MISHLĔ/PROVERBS 191 MISHLĔ/PROVERBS 19 Shalom, In this article I will break down Mishlĕ/Proverbs...

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MISHLĔ/PROVERBS 19

Shalom, In this article I will break down Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19, verse by verse, and reveal some great nuggets of truth, by looking at some of the key Hebrew words, as well as cross referencing these verses with other relevant verses throughout the Scriptures, in order to help us understand these wisdom-filled proverbs in a better way. This is in no way an exhaustive commentary on these verses contained within this proverb, but is simply a continual study on it, with the hope of opening it up before the reader, in order to be a platform for further study and meditation. Many of the words that are discussed herein, are also discussed in our commentaries of the other proverbs, and the reason for this, is not to simply duplicate teachings, but rather, it is done in order to give the reader adequate access to that which will further their ability to study the key words contained herein, without having to necessarily go and seek the same key words that are used in other commentaries, and therefore, this commentary can be used as a stand-alone study, for the relevant proverbs that are being expanded upon, while, at the same time, having the advantage of seeing the various themes and lessons, that are clearly repeated collectively throughout the great wisdom of all of these Proverbs of Shelomoh! Before we go into each verse, I simply want to remind the reader of what the term ‘proverbs’ means.

The Hebrew word for ‘proverbs’ is the noun משל mashal – Strong’s H4912 which means, ‘a proverb,

parable, a byword’ which in its primitive root form means, ‘to compare, to represent, be like’, and

comes from the root verb ל mashal – Strong’s H4911 which means, ‘to use a proverb, speak in מש

parables or sentences of poetry’. That is why we are able to understand the words of Messiah, when He spoke in parables by using terms such as, “The reign of the heavens is like…”, or, “The reign of the heavens shall be compared to…”. A ‘parable’ actually presents the truth very clearly by putting a fresh light on the matter, as it is often presented in a ‘story’ format that represents the message being given, using imagery known to the hearer, in order to illustrate and shed light on the result of past, current and even future events as determined by choices that are made.

When we look at the pictograph of the Hebrew word for ‘proverbs’ - לי Mishlĕ, we are able to מש

clearly see the powerful work of redemption that our Master has brought us, through His Blood, as we see this word being depicted in the ancient script as follows:

Mem - מ:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown.

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We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. Knowing then, that this letter also represents ‘water’, we are able to see how this can render for us the meaning of ‘washing’ or ‘cleansing’.

Shin - ש:

This is the letter ‘shin’ which in the ancient script is pictured as, , which is ‘two front teeth’ and carries the meaning of ‘sharp or press, chew or devour’; which is what the teeth do, and also speaks of the sharpened word that comes forth from the mouth as the teeth ‘chew’ or ‘meditate’ on the Truth, making what comes forth pure and sharp! It also carries the understanding of consuming or destroying – as teeth do to food.

Lamed - ל:

The ancient script has this letter as , and is pictured as a ‘shepherd’s staff’, can give the meaning of ‘to or toward’ and can represent that which pushes or pulls a flock in a direction, and can speak of authority or a yoke that is used to lead and guide, as well as the ability to bring back by Authority.

Yod – י:

The ancient script has this letter as which is ‘an arm and hand’, and carries the meaning of ‘work, make, throw’, from the primary functions of the arm and hand, and it also represents worship or giving thanks in the extending of hands as a gesture of this. The work of one’s hands is the basic meaning of this letter! And this letter also pictures for us the outstretched Arm and working Hand of Elohim, that is not too short to save! When we consider this pictograph for the word that means ‘parables’, we are able to recognise the following, being declared:

CLEANSED BY THE WASHING OF THE WORD OF THE SHEPHERD’S WORK OF REDEMPTION

Our Master and Good Shepherd came to cleanse us, through the washing of His Word, coming in the

flesh, revealing to us the arm of יהוה, which is given to us in order to know the secrets of the reign of

Elohim, for the light is for those in The House!

Verse 1: “Better is the poor walking in his integrity than one of perverse lips, who is a fool.”

The first word used in this Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19 is ‘better’ which is translated from the Hebrew word

toḇ – Strong’s H2896 and carries the meaning, ‘pleasant, good, agreeable, beautiful, to be טוב

pleasing, done well’.

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In the true understanding of this word טוב toḇ, we can see that it may best be translated in most cases

as ‘functional’, for when יהוה said in Berěshith/Genesis 1:31 that when He saw all that He had made,

that He said it was very good. What He saw was His creation functioning properly and working the way it should and this is why it was ‘good’. Sounds all good – yet as we study further into the Hebraic mind-set in regards to this word we get a

fuller understanding of what טוב toḇ means. To do that it does help to look at the ancient script and

get a wider perspective of the true meaning of this word.

In the ancient script - טוב toḇ – Strong’s H2896 - is pictured as:

Tet – ט:

The original pictograph for this letter is , a container made of wicker or clay. Containers were a very important item among the nomadic Hebrews. They were used for storing grains and other items. Wicker baskets were used as nets for catching fish. The meanings of this letter are basket, contain, store and clay.

Waw - ו:

The ancient pictographic form of this letter is , a peg or ‘tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’.

Beyt - ב:

The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself. From this picture we are able to learn and see that:

WE, AS CLAY VESSELS, ARE MADE SECURE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF MESSIAH THAT HOLDS FOR US A SECURE COVENANT PROMISE, OF BEING MADE COMPLETE IN HIM AND BECOMING THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH

…. where He that is Good - The Potter - may dwell with those He has created and called by name! As we look at these letters, we find a great revelation, in terms of the Good News (Besorah), or rather

!’toḇ News טוב‘

The way we, as ‘clay vessels’, are secured into the House of Elohim is by being secured by the peg! Listen to what it says in: Yeshayahu/Isaiah 22:22-24 “And I shall place the key of the house of Dawiḏ on his shoulder. And he shall open, and no one shuts; and shall shut, and no one opens. 23 ‘And I shall fasten him like a peg in a steadfast place, and he shall become a throne of esteem to his father’s house. 24 ‘And they shall hang on him all the weight of his father’s house, the offspring and the offshoots, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the jars.”

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We know that this is a great picture of how through יהושע Messiah we are fastened in a steadfast

place!

Ezra 9:8 “But now, for a short while, favour has been shown from יהוה our Elohim, to leave us a

remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His set-apart place, that our Elohim might enlighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.” This again is a wonderful promise given amidst a time of bondage due – that a peg is given in His set-

apart place – a great picture of the loving-commitment and compassion יהוה has for His called out

nation, that while the ‘House of Elohim’ had been neglected and broken down He would bring the necessary means to ‘secure’ His covenanted people to His House that he builds by His design! It is through the work of Messiah, who has become the very ‘peg’ that secures us and adds us, the clay vessels, to His House!

The Word of Elohim made flesh – The Living Torah, יהושע Messiah came down and secured for us the

ability to be made into the House that He Elohim shall dwell in forever! His House/Dwelling Place is built by His design and His plan and so when we see how that we are the ‘Dwelling Place’ of the Most High, then we are able to get a clearer understanding that we are built up according to His plans as instructed in His Torah that was given through Mosheh and revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Messiah. Just as the Tabernacle in the Wilderness had to be built exactly according to the pattern shown to Mosheh on the mountain of the true heavenly Tabernacle, so too do we need to recognise that the only way we can be built up into being the True Dwelling Place of Elohim is through carefully following His instructions as we walk in and stay in Messiah – The Living Torah. When something is working properly, we might say today something like, ‘working like a well-oiled machine’, when speaking of that which is functioning the way it should and the way it was designed to.

So, טוב toḇ – Strong’s H2896, in the true sense of the word, expresses the idea that something is

‘good’ when it is fulfilling the action for which a person or thing is specifically fitted or used, or for which something exists. In other words, it refers to something that functions within its intended purpose!

The opposite of טוב toḇ (good) is evil which is Hebrew is ע ,ra – Strong’s H7451 meaning, ‘bad, evil ר

wicked, harmful’. The tree of knowledge in the garden was of טוב toḇ (good) and ע !ra (evil) ר

Just as we understand that טוב toḇ represents that which is ‘functional’, we can then see that ע ra ר

represents that which is ‘dysfunctional’, which simply put speaks of that which reveals and abnormal and unhealthy lifestyle that is not functioning as it should. We may often think something is good, yet if it is not ‘functional’ according to the plumb line of the

Torah of יהוה, then we had best be careful to consider our steps!

What makes a poor one more functional than a fool is when he walks in his integrity!

The Hebrew word used here for ‘poor’ comes from the root verb רוש rush (roosh) – Strong’s H7326

which means, ‘to be in want or poor, destitute, poor man, needy, one who pretends to be poor’. This word expresses the state of being destitute and in severe lack! Shelomoh is teaching us that even in the most destitute circumstances it is better to walk in integrity than be foolish with lips that are perverse.

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Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:9 tells us that he who walk in integrity walks safely, and the Hebrew word for

‘integrity’ is תם tom – Strong’s H8537, and carries the meaning of ‘completeness, prosperity, perfect

integrity’. We see Dawiḏ making it clear in:

Tehillah/Psalm 26:1 “Rule me rightly, O יהוה, for I have walked in my integrity. And I have trusted in

”.without wavering ,יהוה

When facing intense persecution for one’s faith and trust in יהוה this Psalm of Dawiḏ can be a great

encouragement to stand firm in being steadfast in one’s trust of our great Master and Elohim. In the first verse of this Psalm Dawiḏ says, “… I have walked in my integrity…”, and the term ‘walked in

my integrity’ in the Hebrew is written as תי כ תמי הל b’thumiy halaḵtiy’ – from the two root‘ – ב

words ך .tom תם halaḵ and הל

In another Tehillah/Psalm Dawiḏ says: Tehillah/Psalm 41:12 “And I, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.”

Dawiḏ praises יהוה for the fact that יהוה ‘upholds’ him in his integrity!

The Hebrew root word that is translated as ‘uphold’ is ך tamaḵ - Strong’s H8551 which means, ‘to תמ

uphold, retain, hold up, support’.

!upholds and supports the righteous in their integrity, and this we can be sure of יהוה

The Hebrew word for ‘integrity, as I have already mentioned, is תם tom – Strong’s H8537, and this

comes from the primitive root word ם tamam – Strong’s H8552 meaning, ‘to be complete, to be תמ

finished, be at an end, blameless’.

The plural of תם tom – Strong’s H8537 is a word we all should know… and that is the word תמים

Tummim – Strong’s H8550 which means ‘perfections’, from which we get the word ת מים tamiym –

Strong’s H8549 meaning, ‘complete, whole, sound, perfect, without blemish, blameless’. The Urim and the Tummim was to be placed into the breastplate of the high priest and be on his heart

when he went in before יהוה.

ur – Strong’s H217 אור Urim – Strong’s H224 means ‘lights, illuminations’, and is the plural of אורים

which actually means, ‘a flame, fire, fires, light’ or ‘light of fire’. While there is no evidence to clearly tell us what the Urim and Tummim consisted of, be it stones or any other substance, what we can see is that the High Priest would use these in order to get right-ruling and

so speaks of seeking the perfect truth from הוה י .

What is very interesting and worthy of noting is that the first letter of ‘Urim’ is the א ‘aleph’ and the

first letter of Tummim is the ת ‘taw’:

Ḥazon/Revelation 1:8 “I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, beginning and end,” says יהוה “who is and

who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” What are the urim and tummim? They are the things that illuminate and perfect – it represents ‘The Perfect Light’.

We know that יהושע is the Light and He was the Perfect Lamb, and so this represents for us our need

to hunger and thirst for righteousness and be perfect before Elohim, for He is perfect and we are called to be the salt and light, which we can only be when we seek out His Right-Ruling and walk according to

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that which is to be upon our heart – His Torah (notice the positioning of the Urim and Tummim in the breastplate – by the heart!!!) What Dawiḏ was basically declaring here, is that he walked in the perfect light! How complete are you? How is your walk, or better put, your manner and way of life? We are called to be perfect as He is perfect! How is your integrity?

told Aḇraham to walk before Him and be perfect (Berěshith/Genesis 17:1), and he commanded יהוה

all Yisra’ĕl to be perfect before Him (Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 18:13). After praying to יהוה Shelomoh

stood up and blessed the assembly and he said in:

Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 8:61 “Let your heart therefore be perfect to יהוה our Elohim, to walk in His

laws and guard His commands, as at this day.” Dawiḏ said in: Tehillah/Psalm 119:80 “Let my heart be perfect in Your laws, so that I am not put to shame.” What becomes clearer, as we go through the Word of Elohim, is that to be perfect can only be done when one walks in and guards the laws and commands of Elohim, which ought to be upon our hearts! While we are told by our Master that the meek shall inherit the earth, we know that the meek are those who are perfect: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 2:21 “For the straight shall dwell in the earth, and the perfect be left in it” Lights and perfections! The perfect light! Let us take a look at these two root words in the ancient pictographic text:

The Hebrew root word אור ur – Strong’s H217 which actually means, ‘a flame, fire, fires, light’ or ‘light

of fire’, is written in the ancient pictographic script, as follows:

Aleph – א:

This is the letter ‘aleph’, in the ancient script is pictured as , ‘the head of an ox’, and represents ‘strength’, meaning ‘muscle’ as the ox is the strongest of the livestock animals. This also carries the meaning of ‘yoke’, as an ox is placed in a yoke in order to plough or pull a heavy

load in the right direction. This can also picture for us the ‘red heifer’ sacrifice that יהושע Messiah

fulfilled!

Waw/Vav – ו:

This is the Hebrew letter ‘waw’ or ‘vav’ which in the ancient script is pictured as , which is a peg or ‘tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’ as well as ‘bind’.

Resh – ר:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘the head of a man’ and has the meaning of the head of a man as well as ‘chief, top, begging or first’. It has the meaning of ‘top’, as in the top or head of a body, and ‘chief’, as in a head of a tribe or people; as well as the one who rules the people.

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Every House has a head of the home, and all in the House submit to the instructions of the One who is head of the home, listening to and obeying the words that the Head speaks! When we consider these ancient pictographic letters that render the word for ‘light’ we can clearly see a powerful lesson, in terms of our Master, the Light of the world, giving us the rendering:

STRENGTH SECURED IN THE HEAD!

We have great confidence and security in being able to be strong and courageous as we walk in the Light as our Master, who is our Head, is in the Light and in Him we have been secured into His Covenants of promise, having called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, for His Word lights our path in a dark and depraved world! “The lamp of the body is the eye!” We are also reminded, in Tehillah/Psalm 119:105, that the Word is a lamp to our feet – in other words, where you look to, is where you will walk to and we must always be assessing our lives, to determine in which direction we are in fact walking, as it is so easy to be blinded by deception and follow “false lights”.

Messiah is the Light of the world that came to separate the light from the darkness and we who יהושע

turn to Him, have had the veil removed and so, we are to fix our eyes on Him, and with unveiled faces, see His esteem through the mirror of His Word and be changed and transformed into that same likeness, as set out in His instructions, for a set-apart and treasured people!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:23-24 “For the command is a lamp, and the Torah a light, and reproofs of discipline a way of life, 24 to guard you against an evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a strange woman.” What we must recognise, is that those who have a wrong lamp and are following the flattering lies of the strange woman, will have their lamps put out! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 13:9 “But the lamp of the wrong is put out.” When one’s eyes are fixed on the Truth and the treasure of His Word is being properly guarded in one’s heart, then the heart rejoices, and is able to bring forth a good word that can bring healing and restoration to others.

In the ancient pictographic script, the word תם tom – Strong’s H8537, and carries the meaning of

‘completeness, prosperity, perfect integrity’, looks like this:

Taw – ת

The ancient script has this letter as which is pictured as two crossed sticks, and can represent for us ‘seal, covenant, mark or sign’; as this once again points to the complete work of Messiah in the renewal of the Covenant in His Blood that brings the two Houses of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah together in Him, as One, for He is not only the ‘aleph’, but is also the ‘taw’ – the beginning and the end of all creation!

Mem – מ:

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The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. This also carries for us the picture of washing, as we understand the function of water being that which cleanses us and sustains us, showing us how we are washed and sustained by the Living Waters of the Word! This letter also can represent any liquid, especially blood! These two pictographic letters can render for us the following:

SECURED THROUGH WASHING! Our ability to be perfect before Elohim has been made possible by the Blood of Our Master and Elohim,

Messiah, as His Blood cleanses us from all sin and it is through His Word, which we are to be יהושע

meditating upon day and night, that we are able to be continually washed and set-apart for service unto our King!

Dawiḏ understood how important the Torah of Elohim was:

Tehillah/Psalm 19:7-11 “The Torah of יהוה is perfect, bringing back the being; the witness of יהוה is

trustworthy, making wise the simple; 8 the orders of יהוה are straight, rejoicing the heart; the

command of יהוה is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of יהוה is clean, standing forever; the

right-rulings of יהוה are true, they are righteous altogether, 10 more desirable than gold, than much

fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Also, Your servant is warned by them, in guarding them there is great reward.”

In the above psalm, the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘perfect’ is תמים tamiym – Strong’s H8549

which means, ‘complete, whole, sound, perfect, without blemish, blameless’, which is also used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are the perfect in the way, who walk in the Torah of יהוה!”

To walk in the Torah of יהוה is to walk upright and be perfect!

To walk in integrity is a ‘walk’!!!

The Hebrew word used for ‘walk’ is ך ,halaḵ - Strong’s H1980 which carries the meaning, ‘to walk הל

to live, manner of life, cause to live’ and literally speaks of how one lives. It is used as a verb indicating that it is an active expression of one’s life. This is verb is written in the ‘qal active’ tense and therefore renders the meaning, ‘to go, to walk, come, proceed, depart, move, go away, to die, live, manner of life (figuratively)’. When one looks at this root word and the word that is used here in the ancient text, we are able to get a clearer understanding of how we are able to walk in complete obedience!

The root word for walk - ך :halaḵ - Strong’s H1980 in the ancient pictographic script looks like this הל

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Hey – ה:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘a man standing with his arms raised out’. The meaning of the letter is “behold, look, breath, sigh and reveal or revelation”, from the idea of revealing a great sight by pointing it out. It also carries for us the meaning of surrender, as we lift up our

hands and submit to יהוה as we lift our hands in praise, declaring His authority under which we humbly

submit!

Lamed - ל:


Kaph - ך:

The ancient form of this letter is - meaning ‘the open palm of a hand’. The meaning behind this letter is ‘to bend and curve’ from the shape of a palm as well as ‘to tame or subdue’ as one has been bent to another’s will (under their hand), as an open hand symbolises submission. This also can picture for us a palm or palm branch from the curved palm shape. The hand also speaks of one’s work, or under whose hand you submit and obey! When we look at the letters that spell out the root word that for ‘walk’ we are able to see a great declaration:

BEHOLD THE STAFF IN THE PALM! With the picture of the shepherds staff and the open palm of the hand we are able to see the concept of ‘staff in the palm’ and we take note that a nomad that travelled on foot would have a staff in his hand in order to provide proper support in walking, as well as having a weapon in his hand to defend against predators and thieves! A true functional taught one of the Master walks in integrity, no matter the circumstances they find themselves in, as they lean on and trust in Elohim! In contrast to a poor one who walks in integrity, Shelomoh gives us a picture of a fool who has perverse lips. Many people will speak a good game, so to speak, yet lack the ability to actually walk in complete trust and faith! Many people render a lip service, while their hearts are far from the Master and therefore, have a false belief without the proper works!

The Hebrew word translated as ‘perverse’ is עקש iqqesh – Strong’s H6141 which means, ‘twisted,

distorted, perverted, crooked’, and comes from the primitive root verb ש aqash – Strong’s H6140 עק

which means, ‘to twist, pervert’.

The crooked and perverse are an abomination to יהוה, and we are told in:

Tehillah/Psalm 18:26 “With the clean You show Yourself clean; and with the crooked You show Yourself twisted.”

The Hebrew word translated as ‘crooked’ is עקש iqqesh – Strong’s H6141, and the Hebrew word

translated as ‘twisted’ is the root verb ל ,pathal – Strong’s H6617 which means, ‘to twist, cunning פת

to show yourself astute’.

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To the crooked the Truth will seem crooked, yet those who walk upright and in cleanliness of the truth, the Word will be as it is – clean and True! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8:8 tells us clearly that none of wisdom’s words are twisted or crooked! To the perverse and crooked Messiah said the following: Mattithyahu/Matthew 12:34-37 “Brood of adders! How are you able to speak what is good – being wicked? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 “The good man brings forth what is good from the good treasures of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked from the wicked treasure. 36 “And I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. 37 “For by your words you shall be declared righteous, and by your words you shall be declared unrighteous.”

The Hebrew word used here in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:1 for ‘fool’ is סיל kesil – Strong’s H3684 which כ

means, ‘fool, stupid fellow, dullard (which is a stupid and unimaginative person)’, and comes from the

root verb ל .’kasal – Strong’s H3688 which means, ‘to be or become stupid, foolish כס

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 1:22 tells us that fools hate knowledge, and when we recognise that יהוה tells us in

Hoshěa/Hosea 4:6 that His people have perished for lack of knowledge, we are able to see that they were being foolish in their clear hatred for knowledge and their disrespect toward hearing, guarding and

doing all that יהוה commands.

Fools will speak crooked and perverse matters as their words do not line up with their actions. A poor one who walks in integrity and complete trust in Elohim is better and more functional that a fool who has a lot to say yet does not do!

Verse 2: “Also, desire without knowledge is not good; and he who hurries with his feet sins.”

This parable warns against hasty and thoughtless actions. So many people do things without thinking and end up paying the price for not being diligent in considering any course of action before doing it! Many people want a lot of things and will rush off and do a lot of unnecessary things, simply because they lack the proper knowledge in regards to that which they so desire and want.

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘desire’ is נפש ‘nephesh’ H5315 which is ‘a soul, a living

being, the inner being of a man’ and therefore speaks of the inner cravings of a person. The inner being of a man that is without knowledge is not good, for there is no true sense of purpose and function and will therefore be hasty in doing things that lead to sin!

The Hebrew word for knowledge is ת ע da’ath – Strong’s H1847 and comes from the word used in ד

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6:9 for describing those who are ‘seeing’ but do not ‘know’, which is the Hebrew

word - ע .’yaḏa – Strong’s H3045 meaning, ‘to know יד

For more on the importance of not lacking a proper knowledge of Elohim please see the notes from a message called, “Lack of knowledge leads to death – Ignorance is no excuse!” which you can find on our site (https://atfotc.com) under the sermons 2014/2015 menu or by clicking the following link: https://atfotc.com/lack-of-knowledge-leads-to-death-ignorance-is-no-excuse/

https://atfotc.com/

https://atfotc.com/lack-of-knowledge-leads-to-death-ignorance-is-no-excuse/

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The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘hurries’ comes from the root verb אוץ uts – Strong’s H213

which means, ‘to press, be pressed, make haste, narrow, urged’.

In Hebrew the word for ‘feet’ is ים ל ג – regel רגל raglayim’ which is the plural of the word‘ – ר

Strong’s H7272 which means ‘a foot/feet or to walk’, and speaks of one’s obedience to walking according to the commands of Elohim and obeying His call to keep His feasts as commanded, as we take note that this word is also translated as ‘times’ in: Shemoth/Exodus 23:14 “Three times in the year you are to observe a festival to Me.” In Scripture, this concept of ‘hurrying with one’s feet’, is a picture of running to do that which is not functional and good, and is the effect of one not having proper knowledge, as Shelomoh is making it clear for us here in this parable that feet without knowledge in the inner man will result in a lawless and sinful walk!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘sin’ comes from the root word חטא ḥata – Strong’s H2398

meaning, ‘to miss the mark, do wrong, incur guilt, fail to reach’. The understanding of sin being that which missing the mark is made perfectly clear when understands what the Hebrew word Torah, which is often translated as ‘law’ means.

The Hebrew word תורה torah – Strong’s H8451 means, ‘utterance’, ‘teaching’, ‘instruction’ or

‘revelation’ from Elohim’. Other definitions include: ‘information that is imparted to a student; direction; body of prophetic teaching; instruction on Messianic Age; body of priestly direction’, and

this comes from the primitive root verb ירה yarah – Strong’s H3384 meaning, ‘to shoot, throw,

instruct, direct, teach’, which therefore can give us the understanding of ‘Torah’ to mean the following:

TO AIM OR POINT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION and MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION The Torah gives us our ‘direction’ and bearings as we sojourn here, looking forward to the sure and promised hope of the return of our King and Teacher of Righteousness! Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” When shooting an arrow or other object to a target, the distance that one misses is measured with a cord. The wrong actions of one are also measured against the correct action! The Torah is the ‘chord’ or ‘plumb-line that we are ‘measured against’, for we would not know what we have missed if there was no measuring line to guide and instruct us! Sinners are those who walk contrary to the Torah and ‘miss the mark’ of called for set-apartness and obedience to the torah. Sin is lawlessness!

The Greek word here, as we know, for sin is ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin,

failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’.

We also know, yet I will once again remind you, that the Greek word used for ‘lawlessness’ is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the

word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’.

This verse spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin! It is as though Yoḥanan was spelling out this fact very bluntly and straightforward for those who struggle with a Greek mind-set and see no need to walk in the Torah – well right here in the Greek it is clear – If you are lawless (that is to walk contrary to the Torah) then you are indeed sinning!

ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458

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Titos/Titus 2:11-14 “For the saving Gift of Elohim has appeared to all men, 12 instructing us to renounce wickedness and worldly lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our

Saviour יהושע Messiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse

for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.”

The Greek word that is translated as ‘redeem’ here, is λυτρόω lutroō – Strong’s G3084 which literally

means, ‘to release by paying a ransom, redeem’ – in other words Messiah has paid the price for us and released us from lawlessness by paying the ransom for our lives with His Blood. Sha’ul tells us in: Romiyim/Romans 6:18 “And having been set free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.”

So, in other words, we can see that The Master יהושע Messiah has redeemed us and set us free from

all lawlessness and sin, in order that we never wander from or violate the Torah. What we must also take note of is that unrighteousness is sin: Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:17 “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.”

The Greek word used here for ‘unrighteousness’ is the noun ἀδικία adikia – Strong’s G93 which

means, ‘unrighteousness, iniquity, wrong, deed violating law and justice’ and as an adjective speaks of one who is wicked and unjust.

ἀδικία adikia – Strong’s G93 IS ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266

The Greek renders a very clear message that many do not realise in their stubbornness to walking in the Torah, and their rejection of the Torah makes them ‘lawless’ who are doing ‘lawlessness’, which the wages thereof shall be death, for the wages of sin is death! Understanding this we can see the following:

ἀδικία adikia – Strong’s G93 is ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266, which is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458

UNRIGHTEOUSNESS is SIN which is LAWLESSNESS What Shelomoh is teaching us here is that one who is without a proper knowledge and application of the Torah they will be quick with their feet to sin and be lawless, which further stresses our need to be urgent in seeking and growing in the knowledge of Elohim so that our feet do not hurry into sin but rather walk in complete obedience to the Torah of Elohim and guard His commands. So many people ‘desire’ to walk in the Truth and even claim to do so, yet they lack proper knowledge of Elohim and His Word and in their disregard for His Torah they quickly run into evil and are lawless.

Verse 3: “The foolishness of a man perverts his way, and his heart is wroth against

”.יהוה

The Hebrew word used here for ‘foolishness’ is the noun אולת ivveleth – Strong’s H200 which means,

‘folly, foolishness, foolish’, and is from the same adjective אויל eviyl – Strong’s H191 which means,

‘fool, foolish’. The Hebrew words rendered fool in Mishlĕ/Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Tanak, denote one who is morally deficient. Such a person is lacking in sense and is generally corrupt.

The אויל eviyl (fool) identifies himself as soon as he opens his mouth!

He would be wise to conceal his folly by keeping quiet (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:28). When he starts talking without thinking, ruin is at hand (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:14).

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While a wise man avoids strife, the fool quarrels at any time (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 20:3). He cannot restrain himself and will “display his annoyance at once,” whereas a wise man overlooks an insult (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:16). Fools only have pride coming out of their mouths (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:3), and mock at sin and lawlessness (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:9). A fool despises wisdom because it is too high for him (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 24:7), and when disputing with a fool there is no peace (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 29:9).

The Hebrew word for ‘man’ is אדם Aḏam – Strong’s H120 which means, ‘man, mankind, human,

person’ and so this also collectively refers to men and women, and comes from the root verb אדם aḏom – Strong’s H119 which means, ‘to be red, ruddy’.

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘perverts’ comes from the root verb ף salaph – Strong’s סל

H5557 which means, ‘to twist, pervert, overthrow’. The one who perverts his way has a heart issue that is wroth against Elohim! The opposite of walking in complete integrity is walking in crookedness through the twisting and perverting of the Truth! In Yehoshua/Joshua 7 we find that Aḵan is a good example for us of one who did not walk in integrity but was rather very slippery in his treacherous and deceitful ways. He lacked true integrity as he took that which did not belong to him, and as a result the entire nation

suffered a loss. Everything in Yeriḥo was ‘put under the ban’ as it was a ‘first fruits’ to יהוה, and by

taking that which belonged to יהוה showed that he lacked integrity!

We can learn much from this, as we consider that which many withhold from Elohim today, as they withhold or take that which is not theirs to have.

When people withhold from giving to יהוה what they should they simply show that they lack integrity

and risk being destroyed in their treachery. In fact, the slipperiness of those who twist the truth to what should be done will destroy them. A

sobering warning is heard when considering the account of Aḵan as יהוה told Yehoshua that Yisra’ĕl

had sinned by taking that which is under the ban and as a result had become accursed. יהוה then made

it clear that He was not with them anymore unless they destroyed that which is under the ban!!!

!!!was not with them anymore יהוה

All due to one man’s lack of integrity!

The Hebrew name עכן Aḵan – Strong’s H5912 means, ‘troubler’, which is from an unused root

meaning, ‘to trouble’. The primitive root word associated with this word is ר aḵar – Strong’s H5916 עכ

which means, ‘to trouble, stir up, disturb, cause disturbance’, and it reflects the social dimension of an individual’s action. Many today claim to walk in the Master and walk according to His Torah, and claim to walk in integrity, yet they are very slippery in regards to their called for obedience or lack thereof in giving tithes and offerings as they ought to. The sin of Aḵan teaches us a clear lesson regarding that which is ‘off limits’, and one’s first fruits and

tithes is off limits for self-use and must be given to יהוה.

The sin of Aḵan also teaches that having anything in our lives that ought to be under the ban can cause

the very presence of יהוה to not be with us until that which should not be is destroyed!!!

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That which is to be under the ban, can also refer to things that should not be in our lives, things that bring about a compromised and mixed worship, things that cause our hearts to slip away into complacency and sin, be it physical objects, or even thoughts, unacceptable actions or habits, wrong speech and deliberate negligence toward His Word due to the influence of others or troubling and trying circumstances! How is your heart – slippery at times or continually steadfast in complete obedience regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in? Messiah exposed the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, as they claimed an ‘obedience with their lips’ yet their hearts were far from being complete, as their actions proved their slipperiness! Just as the Pharisees were with Messiah, we are able to see that the foolish perverter of the Truth will be wroth against Elohim!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘wroth’ is ף zaaph – Strong’s H2196 which means, ‘to be זע

vexed, to be enraged, be angry, troubled, sad looking’.

When people pervert the Truth and are exposed for it, they get very angry against יהוה.

We are given a clear picture of what is going to happen when the wrath of Elohim is poured out on the disobedient that perverted the Truth and how they will react in: Ḥazon/Revelation 16:9-11 “And men were burned with great heat, and they blasphemed the Name of Elohim who possesses authority over these plagues. And they did not repent, to give Him esteem. 10 And the fifth messenger poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his reign became darkened. And they gnawed their tongues from pain. 11 And they blasphemed the Elohim of the heaven for their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their works.” What Shelomoh is warning us against here is the damaging effect of the foolish perverting of the Truth, as it will cause one’s heart to become hardened and then blame Elohim for all the problems that they encounter as a result of their foolish perversions! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:9 tells us that he who perverts his ways becomes known, and here Shelomoh tells us that it is the foolishness of man that perverts his ways! Nothing is hidden from Elohim, and all will be made known! Those who walk in integrity walk in safety and are at rest with the Master, and those who find refuge in Him are not guilty, whereas those who pervert their ways will be found out! Those who walk in integrity have no fear of ‘being found out’, as there is nothing to be hidden from Elohim!

The Hebrew root word or ‘ways’ is דרך dereḵ – Strong’s H1870 which means, ‘way, road, distance,

journey’ and is from the word ך daraḵ – Strong’s H1869 which means, ‘to tread or march’; and so דר

speaks of our walk, and every step that we take – and our ‘ways’ we are to commit to יהוה.

Any ways that are not completely committed to walking the clear commands and instructions of Elohim are perverted ways that will be made known!

Verse 4: “Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend.”

This parable simply declares the typical practice of society at large and the impact that that wealth or money has on social relationships.

The Hebrew word used here for ‘wealth’ is הון hon – Strong’s H1952 which means, ‘wealth,

sufficiency, possession’.

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The basic meaning of the noun is “goods” or “substance” in sufficient quantity to be considered “riches”

or “wealth”. It comes from the root verb הון hun – Strong’s H1951 which means, ‘to be easy, regarded

it as easy, make light of’, and in terms of wealth, it may often give the idea of that which makes life easier. The word for wealth is used opposed to the word for poor, and here the Hebrew word that is translated

as ‘poor’ is ל dal – Strong’s H1800 which means, ‘low, weak, poor, thin, depressed, needy’, and ד

comes from the word ל .’dalal – Strong’s H1809 which means, ‘to hang, brought low, distress דל

What is being highlighted here, is that the one who ‘has it easy’ tends to have many friends, while the one who is suffering and in need loses the little friends or friend that he may have had. This is a sad reality that we find happening in the world, and what this parable should teach us is that we should be on guard against following a corrupt pattern of the world that tends to measure people by their physical wealth, when Messiah makes it clear to us in: Luqas/Luke 12:15 “And He said to them, “Mind, and beware of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the excess of his possessions.” Many people are driven to become wealthy and be in excess of many worldly possessions with the thinking that it will define who they are and will give them lots of friends!

The Hebrew word that is used for ‘friend/friends’ is רע rea – Strong’s H7453 which means, ‘friend,

companion, fellow, opponent’, and comes from the root רעה ra’ah – Strong’s H7462 which means, ‘to

associate with, cultivate, companion’. The wealthy have many who love them while the poor get hated because they have nothing! The friends of the rich are only friends as long as the rich have something to give them, and their friendship lasts as long as the money lasts! This sad but true picture of human nature, is not given approvingly, but only as a fact, and we must learn a great deal from this so that we do not act in this way as we are to reflect the true character of Messiah and not only love people because they have something we can benefit from, nor should we hate someone because they have nothing to give but are seeking something from us!

The Hebrew word for ‘separated’ is ד ,paraḏ – Strong’s H6504 which means, ‘to divide, disperse פר

separate, scatter, make a division’, and is a word that is also used to describe one who is a separatist, which we are told in Scripture is one who breaks out against all sound wisdom and seeks his own desire. When a separatist is a friend of one who becomes poor, he quickly breaks off the friendship as his own desires for wealth are hindered by being associated with a poor one. We must never base our friendships on the physical wealth of a person as this is a shallow form of friendship that only lasts as long as the wealth lasts. This parable is very similar to that which we find in: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:20 “The poor is hated even by his own neighbour, but the rich has many friends.” In Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:26 Shelomoh tells us that the righteous is a guide to his neighbour, and what we therefore can see here is the clear fact that it is most often the case that the poor are hated by their own neighbours and companions, possibly because they are always in want and begging. We are instructed in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:28 to not say to our neighbour, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I give it,” when you have it with you! Shelomoh highlights the contrast between the poor and the rich and what is abundantly clear is that the rich has many friends! What he is also making very clear here is that while one has riches, he may have many ‘friends’, yet when the rich one loses his wealth his so-called friends will quickly disappear.

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Verse 5: “A false witness does not go unpunished, and he who breaths out lies does not escape.” Dishonest witnesses and liars will not escape punishment! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:5 tells us that a trustworthy witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies!

The Hebrew word translated as ‘witness’ is עד eḏ – Strong’s H5707 meaning, ‘a witness, evidence’ and

comes from the root word עוד uḏ/ooḏ – Strong’s H5749, which means, ‘to return, go about, repeat, do

again, encircle, supports’. When we consider these two-root word in the ancient pictographic script we can glean further insight regarding a true witness!

eḏ – Strong’s H5707 meaning, ‘a witness, evidence’, in the ancient pictographic script looks like עד

this:

Ayin - ע:

The original pictograph for this letter is and represents the idea of ‘seeing and watching’, as well as ‘knowledge’. as the eye is the ‘window of knowledge’.

Dalet – ד:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as a ‘tent door’. It can also have the meaning of ‘a back and forth movement’, as one goes back and forth through a tent door, and so speaks of an access point. It can also carry the meaning of ‘dangle’ or hanging as the tent door would hang from the roof pole of the tent. It speaks a great deal in terms of understanding the door of the tent of appointment as the only means of access. Combined, these two letters mean:

SEE THE DOOR

When we consider that יהושע Messiah is The Door, then we further see our need to continually be

looking at Him, and praising Him as we diligently are serving in spirit and truth, guarding to do all His commands – as we look continually into the perfect Torah of Freedom and not forget what we look like!

This word comes from the root word עוד uḏ/ooḏ – Strong’s H5749, which means, ‘to return, go about,

repeat, do again, encircle, supports’, which is another great practical lesson in understanding how we are to continually be meditating on the Word of Elohim, as we also find ourselves repeating the cycle of studying His Torah each week, doing it again and again!

In the ancient script, this word עוד uḏ/ooḏ – Strong’s H5749 has an additional letter and looks as

follows:

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As you will notice, this word has the extra letter in the middle:

Waw/Vav – ו:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is a ‘peg’ or ‘tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’. It is by the work of Messiah, in His own Blood, that has secured for us His Covenants of promise, to which we are added to; and His righteousness stands forever secured in Him! This further strengthens our understanding of our need to be looking to the Princely Leader and

Perfecter of our belief, יהושע Messiah, The Word made flesh, who now sits on high!

For He is the Perfect Witness of the Word that was made flesh and came to secure for us the Renewed Covenant in His own Blood, that we may be added to Him and be secured of everlasting life, as we guard His commands and stay in Him and be trustworthy witnesses of who he is as we guard the commands and bear the witness of Messiah!

:Messiah is the Trustworthy witness יהושע

Ḥazon/Revelation 1:5 “and from יהושע Messiah, the trustworthy witness, the first-born from the

dead, and the ruler of the sovereigns of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” We are called to be true and trustworthy witnesses of our Master and Elohim, as we guard His commands and possess His witness: Ḥazon/Revelation 14:12 “Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the

commands of Elohim and the belief of יהושע.”

Those who do not bear the witness of Messiah and guard His commands will stand condemned as the Truth will witness against them! Another word that is derived from this root word, is the word that is used to describe the Ark of the

‘witness’, which is the Hebrew word עדות eḏuth – Strong’s H5715 which means, ‘testimony, witness,

ordinance, warning’, and once again, as we look at the ancient form of this word we continue to get further ‘witness’ of the Word of Elohim, as it is pictured as:

As you will see, there is once again another letter used here, which is:

Taw – ת


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It was on the lid of atonement, of the Ark of the Witness, that blood was to be sprinkled upon, on Yom Kippur, which was a shadow picture of the complete work of Messiah, who by His own Blood entered the Most Set-Apart place in the Heavens to make atonement for sins, and He continually intercedes for us who stay in Him and are waiting for Him as we possess His witness, unto deliverance, when He shall come again apart from sin! Why I am sharing this with you, is so that you can get a better understanding from a True Hebraic Scriptural perspective the witness that stands against those who are disobedient and are following corrupted man-made practices that are rooted in pagan worship rites, and have despised His Word, versus the true trustworthy witness that guards the commands of our Master! A Trustworthy Witness does not lie! A false witness just breathes out lies and for this he will not go unpunished!

The Hebrew root word translated as ‘false’ is שקר sheqer – Strong’s H8267 which means, ‘deception,

disappointment, falsehood, lies’, and comes from the root verb ר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which שק

means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’.

sheqer – Strong’s H8267 is used in Wayyiqra/Leviticus 19:12 in the command to not swear falsely שקר

in the Name of יהוה and profane His Name through false speech!

We must let our yes be yes and our no must be no, for whatever goes beyond these is from the wicked one! A false witness has a lying tongue and a lying tongue speaks of one who makes promises but does not keep them! Have you made promises you did not keep? Have you ever said yes for something but meant no, or vice versa?

This is an abomination to יהוה and if one is found to have a lying tongue then they stand the risk of not

being a part of the House – for יהוה is cleaning His Bride and He will not allow an abomination in His

House!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to יהוה, but those who deal truly are His

delight.”

There are many who are bringing the Name of יהוה to nought and by their lawless speech they are

hiding their hatred with lying lips! To those who are wrong and refuse to walk in His Torah as they have so easily cast His word behind them under the misguided teachings of vain traditions handed down in error, He says this: Tehillah/Psalm 50:16-17 “But to the wrong Elohim said, “What right have you to recite My laws, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 “While you hated instruction And cast My Words behind you?”

The Hebrew word used here for ‘unpunished’ is the root verb נקה naqah – Strong’s H5352 which

means, ‘to be empty or clean, acquitted, purged’. What is very clear here, is that the one who bears a false witness will not be acquitted!

In Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:19 we are told that a false witness breathing out lies in an abomination to יהוה:

A false witness breathing out lies – זבים עד שקר yaphiyḥa k’zaḇiym eḏ shaqer’. This‘ – יפיח כ

could literally be rendered as ‘a false testimony that is spoken by lying’ or, ‘the breath of lies that witness falsely’. This phrase comes from the following root words:

.’puaḥ - Strong’s H6315 which means, ‘to breathe, blow, speak, utter, puff, snort פוח (1

This word is used 15 times in the Tanak and primarily the verb means to ‘breath, blow’ in the negatives sense of “to utter” lies or be utterly deceitful.

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kazaḇ - Strong’s H3577 which means, ‘a lie, falsehood, deceptive thing, deception’, and comes כזב (2

from the primitive root verb כזב kazaḇ - Strong’s H3576 which means, ‘to lie, be a liar, fail, told lies,

deceive, disappoint’.

uḏ/ooḏ עוד eḏ – Strong’s H5707 meaning, ‘a witness, evidence’ and comes from the root word עד (3

– Strong’s H5749, which means, ‘to return, go about, repeat, do again, encircle, supports’.

sheqer – Strong’s H8267 which means, ‘deception, disappointment, falsehood, lies’, and שקר (4

comes from the root verb ר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’, which שק

we have already discussed under ‘a lying tongue’. We are to be a good and truthful witness of Messiah as we speak Truth and walk in the Truth. Any departure from this clear standard of thinking, walking and speaking truth, will render one as being a false witness breathing out lies. Many want to give testimonies of how Elohim has done great things for them, while the Truth is not in them, as they have disregarded His Torah! This is a huge warning against the lawless who assume to bear the witness of Elohim in their lives, and

this יהוה hates!

We are to hold fast and possess the witness of יהושע Messiah AND guard the commands of Elohim!

Possessing a witness of Messiah without guarding the commands of Elohim, will render your witness false, for your witness does not breathe out life, but rather lies! We are to be ambassadors of the coming reign, and in doing so we are to bear witness of His Truth in our lives! The question is – are you a true witness or are you a false one? While many people claim to know Elohim, and claim to walk in His Torah, their daily lives may often render them being a false witness, as they conform to the world and fall prey to the influence of others! Have you found yourself telling others that you are a taught one or follower of Messiah, while you are in fact compromising in your walk – for then you are a false witness breathing out lies – and this is an

abomination to יהוה?

We are also to be on guard about bearing false witness against our neighbour! Do not speak lies about another – do not gossip and slander another – for if you do you are being a false witness that is breathing out lies!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘escape’ is ט malat – Strong’s H4422 which means, ‘to מל

slip away, escape, certainly rescue, delivered, saved’, and what is made abundantly clear here in this parable of Shelomoh is that liars will not be delivered or saved!

The Greek word used for ‘false’ in the LXX (Septuagint) is ψευδής pseudēs – Strong’s G5571 which

means, ‘lying, false, liars, deceitful’, which comes from the word ψεύδομαι pseudomai – Strong’s

G5574 which means, ‘to lie, speak deliberate falsehoods’.

Another word that comes from this root is ψεύστης pseustēs – Strong’s G5583 and means, ‘liar, one

who breaks faith, false and faithless man’, which is translated as ‘liar’ in: Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:4 “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

The Greek word ψευδής pseudēs – Strong’s G5571 is translated as ‘false’ in:

Ḥazon/Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, and untrustworthy, and abominable, and murderers, and those who whore, and drug sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the false, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”

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This verse clearly highlights for us the true fact that liars, and all who speak falsehood, will not escape the second death and those who say they know Elohim, yet disregard the need to guard His commands, are liars and will not go unpunished or escape the judgement of the second death!!! There are many liars, who think that they are safe, yet their disregard for the Torah of Elohim and an assumed ‘grace’ that they believe has done away with the Torah will cause them to be severely punished! A false witness is also one who does not proclaim the proper witness of our Master and Elohim; and by

that, I mean that if one cannot declare that יהושע Messiah is Master and Elohim then whatever

witness they may declare is a false one!

To declare that יהושע Messiah is Master and Elohim is to fully acknowledge that יהושע Messiah is

our Elohim, who was manifested in the flesh in order to destroy sin in the flesh so that man could יהוה

be restored to a rightful relationship with our Creator and Saviour, giving us access in Messiah to the tree of life and the sure promise of everlasting life with Him, for those who hold firm to the good

confession and trustworthy witness of יהושע Messiah and the proper guarding of His commands.

Verse 6: “Many entreat the favour of the noble. And all are friends to him who gives gifts.”

Shelomoh is highlighting another sad truth and that is how many will beg the face of a noble.

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘entreat’ is לו ח yeḥalu’ which comes from the root word‘ – י

ḥalah – Strong’s H2470 which means, ‘to be or become sick, grow sick, afflicted, severely חלה

wounded, to grieve, made weak’.

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘favour’ is a derivative of the word פנה paneh or פנים paniym –

Strong’s H6440 meaning, ‘face, faces’.

The Hebrew noun used for ‘noble’ is נדיב naḏiyḇ – Strong’s H5081 which means, ‘inclined, generous,

noble, willing’ and comes from the root verb ב ,naḏaḇ – Strong’s H5068 which means, ‘to incite נד

impel, give freewill offering, volunteer, offer willingly’, and is often used to describe one who is typified by voluntarily and freely sacrificing their all to their Elohim. What Shelomoh is telling us here, is that there are many sick and weak who are ‘in the face’ of those who are generous. Another way of expressing this is to say that many beg the face of a generous one. Many who are weak and in severe lack will try to flatter a noble one who is generous in the hope to get something out of them, and Shelomoh highlights this fact in the second line by stating how everyone is a friend to the one who gives gifts. When somebody is generous and gives gifts there will be a lot of people showing up and seeking to be a friend that receives.

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘gives gifts’ is the root word תן Mattan – Strong’s H4976 מ

which simply means, ‘a gift’, which comes from the root verb ן Nathan – Strong’s H5414 which נת

means, ‘to give, put, set, appointed, delivered, given, placed’. It is from this word that we get the plural

term תינים .’Nethinim which means, ‘given ones נ

In understanding the reality of this parable, we are able to recognise how we, who have been sickened and weakened by sin and lawlessness, earnestly seek the face of our Master and Elohim in order to receive His favourable gift of everlasting life in Messiah.

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Romiyim/Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the favourable gift of Elohim is everlasting

life in Messiah יהושע our Master.”

The Greek word used here for ‘gift’ is χάρισμα charisma – Strong’s G5486 which means, ‘a gift of

grace, free gift, favour which one receives without any merit of their own’, and comes from the word

χαρίζομαι charizomai – Strong’s G5489 which means, ‘to show favour, give freely’, which comes from

the primary root word χάρις charis – Strong’s G5485 meaning, ‘grace, kindness, blessing, gift, favour’.

Verse 7: “All the brothers of the poor shall hate him; how much more shall his friends go far from him! He pursues promises – they are gone!” This verse is closely linked to the previous as it continues to highlight the difference between the poor and the rich. Unlike most parables or verses in Mishlĕ/Proverbs this verse has 3 lines or phrases as opposed to 2.

The Hebrew word used here for ‘poor’ comes from the root verb רוש rush (roosh) – Strong’s H7326

which means, ‘to be in want or poor, destitute, poor man, needy, one who pretends to be poor’. This word expresses the state of being destitute and in severe lack!

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘brothers’ is the word אח aḥ – Strong’s H251 which means,

‘brother, alike, fellow countryman, kinsman, relative’.

The Hebrew word used here for ‘hate’ comes from the primitive root word שנא sane – Strong’s H8130

which means, ‘to hate, detest, turn against’. Shelomoh is telling us that if a poor man’s own family turns against him then how much more shall those who were his friends!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘friends’ is מרע merea – Strong’s H4828 which means,

‘friend, companion, confidential friend’, and comes from the root רעה ra’ah – Strong’s H7462 which

means, ‘to associate with, cultivate, companion’. What Shelomoh is teaching us here, is how those who may even be the closest of friends of one who is poor will quickly turn against their friend and put a great distance between them and have nothing to do with them! What is very sobering to realise, is how quickly some will cut off ties from another due to poverty or a destitute state. Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 9:13-16 “Also this I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me: 14 A little city, and few men in it, and a great sovereign came against it, and besieged it, and built huge siege-works against it. 15 And there was found in it a poor wise man, and by his wisdom he delivered the city, yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 And I said, “Wisdom is better than might. But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.” What is being taught to us here in these above verses is that no matter how much wisdom a poor man may have, he will be despised and not heard. This is a sad reality of the depravity of sinful man, as the ear is quickly turned away from true wisdom when there is a close friend is left destitute or made poor. We are clearly taught in Scripture how we are to not look at the state of one’s wealth or social status but that we must love our neighbour as ourselves! The one who is so quickly forsaken pursues empty promises, as those who had promised so much; be it family or friends, turn away from him when he becomes poor.

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Ya’aqoḇ/James 2:14-17 “My brothers, what use is it for anyone to say he has belief but does not have works? This belief is unable to save him. 15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, 16 but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it? 17 So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.” Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:15-18 “Everyone hating his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has everlasting life staying in him. 16 By this we have known love, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his tender affections from him, how does the love of Elohim stay in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” What we can take from this parable of Shelomoh is that we must not lose sight of our need to show proper love at all times and never be found to be one who hates a brother or turns away from a close friend.

On the other hand, we also learn that we are not to put our trust in man, but in יהוה alone, as we

recognise how quickly those who claim to be your family and friends will quickly turn against you and hate you! We take note of the words of Dawiḏ in: Tehillah/Psalm 55:12-14 “It is not an enemy who reproaches me – that I could bear; nor one who hates me who is making himself great against me – then I could hide from him. 13 But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my friend. 14 We took sweet counsel together, we walked to the House of Elohim in the throng.” This Tehillah was a prayer of Dawiḏ who was maliciously betrayed by a close friend and counsellor. The one who betrayed him was Aḥithophel who was Dawiḏ’s counselor and betrayed the king during the rebellion of Aḇshalom, Dawiḏ’s son.

פל Aḥithophel – Strong’s H302 means, ‘my brother is foolish’, and this indeed he proved to be אחית

when he betrayed the confidence of Dawiḏ, and in many ways is a picture of Yehuḏah from Qeriyoth who betrayed our Master and Elohim. When telling His taught ones to make sure that no one leads them astray, Messiah warned them that brother would deliver up brother! Marqos/Mark 13:12-13 “And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and a father his child. And children shall rise up against parents and shall put them to death. 13 “And you shall be hated by all because of My Name. But he who shall have endured to the end, he shall be saved.”

Verse 8: “He who gets heart loves his own life; he who guards understanding finds good.” The one who ‘gets heart’ loves his soul!!!

The Hebrew word translated as ‘gets’ is נא ,qena – Strong’s H7066 which means, ‘to acquire, buy ק

purchase’, and corresponds to the word קנה qanah – Strong’s H7069 which means, ‘to acquire, buy,

purchase, get, recover’. We see this word being used in: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth and do not sell it – Wisdom and discipline and understanding.” The instruction is clear – get wisdom! And what we must recognise here is that it will cost you!

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Messiah has paid the cost for our deliverance, yet we must count the cost of following hard after Him and seeking Him with all our heart!

The Hebrew word for ‘heart’ is לב leḇ - Strong’s H3820 which means, ‘inner man, mind, will thought’,

or is often also written as לבב leḇaḇ – Strong’s H3824 which means, ‘inner man, heart, mind,

understanding’. Our hearts are to be healthy!!! It is a heart thing! What is interesting to take note of here is that these two letters for ‘heart’ in the ancient Hebrew pictographic Script make it clear that the rule and authority of Elohim is to be upon our hearts, giving us a healthy heart!

In the ancient Script the Hebrew word לב leḇ - Strong’s H3820 looks like this:

Lamed - ל:


Bet - ב:

The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself.

In terms of these two pictures, representing the ‘heart’ or the inner man and the will and thoughts of man, we are able to see that a pure heart is one that submits to the authority of the Good Shepherd, having been grafted into His Body, that is the Tabernacle of Elohim, which in Messiah we now are. It can clearly be expressed as:

THE RULES OF THE HOUSE And in recognising this, we see that we, as legitimate sons and daughter of the Most-High, that have been grafted in by the Blood of Messiah, have upon our hearts His Torah, under which we submit to walking in – for His Torah are the rules of His House, WHICH He has written on the fleshly tablets of our hearts!

Even with the word for heart being expressed as לבב leḇaḇ, we are able to see in the ancient text a

second ‘bet’ (house), showing us the clear picture of the True authority for both Houses of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah, that collectively make up the entire body of Messiah, or Tabernacle of Elohim, which we now are!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:5-6 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all

your being, and with all your might. 6 “And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart” To love Elohim, with all your heart, implies that His commands are written upon your heart, for true love for Elohim is to guard His commands; and if one does not think upon or meditate upon His Torah, in order to walk in it, then it shall be very clear that the Truth is not in them!

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knows what is in our hearts, while we may not; and He tests our hearts in order to see if we will יהוה

obey Him or not:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way

these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not.”

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is יהוה your Elohim asking of you, but to

fear יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה your Elohim with

all your heart and with all your being, 13 to guard the commands of יהוה and His laws which I

command you today for your good?” Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 11:18 “And you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your being, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 30:14 “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.” The reason I am quoting all these verses, is to show that ‘it is a heart thing’ and the Word must be in our hearts and mouths, and not just a vain rendering of a corrupted lips service that has no heart or follow through with obedience and submission to doing the commands with joy! Guarding the good treasure and deposit of the Truth in our hearts will keep us from sinning and being lawless! Tehillah/Psalm 119:11 “I have treasured up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” We are called to walk humbly before Elohim, and this is seen in the joyful submission to being led forth by the commands of Elohim as we, His House, are being built up in Him; and any resistance to this, as seen through pride and a hardened heart, is a severe problem, for pride deceives: Oḇaḏyah/Obadiah 1:3 “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is high, who say in your heart, ‘Who shall bring me down to the ground?’” As we let the Truth dwell in our hearts we will guard to do all to the esteem of our Master and Elohim, and anything that that does not esteem Him, whether in word or deed, we must not do: Qolasim/Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the Word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with pleasure in your hearts to the Master in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Master

”.giving thanks to Elohim the Father through Him ,יהושע

It’s a heart thing, and we who have heard the voice of our Master and Elohim, must receive His Word into our heart and go and proclaim the Reign with our words and the corresponding actions of obedience that reveal that His Word is in fact on our hearts. Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 3:10-11 “And He said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 “And go! Come to the exiles, to the children of your people,

and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה,’ whether they hear, or whether they

refuse.” May we also hear these words and go and proclaim as we should – for it’s a heart thing! How is your heart? Has it been defiled through sin and the deceit of lawlessness? Wash your heart and keep it clean as you HEAR, GUARD and DO all He has commanded us to (Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25)!

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To ‘get heart’ is a clear metaphor for seeking Elohim with our all and loving Him with all our heart as we hear, guard and do His commands!

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘own life’ is נפש ‘nephesh’ H5315 which is ‘a soul, a living

being, the inner being of a man’ and therefore speaks of the inner cravings of a person, or the being of a man. When you guard understanding you find good!

The Hebrew word for ‘guards’ is ר ,shamar – Strong’s H8104 and carries the meaning, ‘keep watch שמ

observe, perform, protect, pay attention, heed’, and the basic idea of the root of this word is ‘to exercise great care over’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘preserve, save life’.

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘understanding’ is בונה teḇunah – Strong’s H8394 which ת

means, ‘understanding, discernment, reasonings, discretion, skill, intelligence’, and comes from the

root word בין bin – Strong’s H995 meaning, ‘to discern, act wisely, consider carefully, understand,

perceive’.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in יהוה with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding”.

We are to trust יהוה with all our heart, which entails trusting Him with all of the understanding and

wisdom that is contained in His Word and not seek out our own vain and selfish reasonings. We are to guard the proper understanding of the Word, which comes in the doing of the Word, and in doing so we must grow in our understanding of the Word and be able to discern the set-apart from the profane, becoming skilled in the Sword of the Spirit!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:2 “A fool does not delight in understanding, but in uncovering his own heart.” A fool does not delight in understanding! A fool does not delight or take pleasure in understanding Scripture and carefully considering what the Word teaches as it is often too much work to do! We have always said that true understanding is gained by the ‘doing’ of the Word, for then the actual applying of the Word to one’s daily life brings proper discretion and ability to discern right from wrong, while those who do not delight in understanding have no inclination to study, meditate and walk in the Torah, which uncovers their heart for who they truly are! While we cannot see the heart of others, as it

is only יהוה who sees the heart, we learn from this parable that the heart of a fool is uncovered and

laid bare before all by not delighting in understanding and not walking according to the Word. In other words, the fool may even be a hearer of the Word but is not a doer and so deceives himself into thinking that he is wise, yet his inability to delight in understanding through the doing of the Word reveals that he is simply a fool! Those who scoff at the Torah and commands, can never grasp the true wisdom of Elohim and find that much of the Word is confusing to them, yet when walking in obedience, the Word becomes much easier to understanding and one’s ability to grow in knowledge, comes swiftly!!! Many may claim to be wise and even claim to have the Torah, yet because of false and twisted dogmas and theologies of man, that have corrupted the Word, the wisdom they think they have is no wisdom at all!

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 8:8-9 “How do you say, ‘We are wise, and the Torah of יהוה is with us’? But

look, the false pen of the scribe has worked falsehood. 9 “The wise shall be put to shame, they shall be

broken down and caught. See, they have rejected the Word of יהוה, so what wisdom do they have?”

Dawiḏ tells us in:

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Tehillah/Psalm 119:98-100 “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies; for it is ever before me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your witnesses are my study. 100 I understand more than the aged, for I have observed Your orders.”

From this root verb בין biyn – Strong’s H995, we get the noun בינה biynah – Strong’s H998 which

also means, ‘an understanding, consideration, discernment’. When we can understand the meaning of these words then we can clearly see that without guarding and doing what is required of us, we would not be able, or be equipped, to display any wisdom or understanding, but instead we would be shown up as fools drowning in our own folly! We are to study carefully and carry out what is required of us, according to the commands we are to guard and do – for then we will become fully functional in Messiah and have the skill and discernment necessary, to stand and fight the good fight of faith!

Iyoḇ/Job 28:28 “And He said to man, ‘See, the fear of יהוה, that is wisdom, and to turn from evil is

understanding.’”

The fear of יהוה is often not understood and as a result many sadly stray from walking in the wisdom

that His Torah brings, and as a result, they clearly show that they have no understanding whatsoever! Ya’aqoḇ/James 3:13 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good behaviour his works in meekness of wisdom.” Ya’aqoḇ asks this simple question and then says that we are to show the wisdom and understanding that the Torah brings as we guard to do all the clear commands of Elohim, through our ‘good behaviour of good works’.

In the ancient pictographic script, the Hebrew word בינה biynah – Strong’s H998 which means, ‘an

understanding, consideration, discernment’, is depicted as follows:

Beyt – ב:

In the ancient script this letter is pictured as , pictured as a ‘tent floor plan’, and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents ‘family’ and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself. We, as living stones are built up in the Master, and are the Dwelling Place of Elohim.

Yod – י:

The ancient script has this letter as which is ‘an arm and hand’ and carries the meaning of ‘work, make, throw’, from the primary functions of the arm and hand, and it also represents worship or giving thanks in the extending of hands as a gesture of this. The work of one’s hands is the basic meaning of this letter!

Nun – נ:

The ancient pictographic script has this letter pictured as , which pictures a ‘sprouting seed’ and gives the idea of continuation or an offspring or an heir, speaking of that which sprouts forth to be the heir of the promise of continuation, and represents one’s life expectancy.

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Hey – ה:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is a ‘man standing with his arms raised out’. This word can mean, “behold, look, breath, sigh and reveal or revelation”; from the idea of revealing a great sight by pointing it out. It also carries for us the meaning of surrender, as we lift up our hands and

submit to יהוה as we lift our hands in praise, declaring His authority under which we humbly submit!

When we consider this Hebrew root word for ‘understanding’, in its pictographic form, we are able to recognise how important it is for us to be ‘doing’ righteousness and letting our belief be a ‘living belief, with works of obedience to the Master’, as we are His Dwelling Place that is to guard the good deposit of life that He has given us. These pictographs can render for us the following, in terms of understanding the meaning of ‘understanding’, as:

THE HOUSE WORKS THE LIFE OF HIM WHO IS TO BE PRAISED The Torah is not a worthless word, for it is our life! And as we consider the need for us to be living stones being built up in the Master, we can clearly identify that understanding comes in the proper doing of His Word, equipping us to lift up hands that are set-apart, in complete obedience to the One who gives us life, and life abundantly! When a wise servant of the Most-High guards understanding then he finds good!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘good’ comes from the root word טוב toḇ – Strong’s H2896 and

carries the meaning, ‘pleasant, good, agreeable, beautiful, to be pleasing, done well’, as discussed in verse 1 by looking at the ancient pictographic rendering of this Word. When we guard understanding we become functional according to the clear plumb-line and teaching of the Word of Truth. When we guard understanding, we are guarding the commands and possessing them as our own for they are or inheritance, and in so doing we show a proper functional love toward Elohim! Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 33:4 “Mosheh commanded us a Torah, an inheritance of the assembly of Yaʽaqoḇ.” Yoḥanan/John 14:21 “He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Tehillah/Psalm 19:7-11 “The Torah of יהוה is perfect, bringing back the being; the witness of יהוה is

trustworthy, making wise the simple; 8 the orders of יהוה are straight, rejoicing the heart; the

command of יהוה is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of יהוה is clean, standing forever; the

right-rulings of יהוה are true, they are righteous altogether, 10 more desirable than gold, than much

fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Also, Your servant is warned by them, in guarding them there is great reward.”

Verse 9: “A false witness does not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies perishes.”

This verse is nearly identical to verse 5 and is, in effect, saying the same thing!

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See the comments on verse 5.

The false witness who breathes out lies ‘perishes’, which is the word ד aḇaḏ – Strong’s H6 which אב

means, ‘to perish, destroy, lose, put to death, blot out, do away with, to give up as lost, vanish, be lost or strayed’.

Verse 10: “Luxury is not fitting for a fool, much less for a servant to rule over princes.”

The Hebrew word translated as ‘fitting’ is נאוה naveh – Strong’s H5000 which means, ‘comely, lovely,

becoming, fitting’, and is thought to come from either נאה na’ah – Strong’s H4998 which means, ‘to be

comely or befitting, be at home’, or from the root נוה naveh – Strong’s H5116 which means,

‘habitation, dwelling, pasture, meadow, who remains, abode of shepherd or flocks’.

We see this word נאוה naveh – Strong’s H5000 used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 147:1 “Praise Yah! For it is good to sing praises to our Elohim. For it is pleasant – praise is fitting.”

The Hebrew word for ‘no/not’ is לא lo – Strong’s H3808 is the primitive adverb that means, ‘not, no,

never, neither’, and what we are able to clearly see from these verses is that luxury is never fitting for the fool.

The Hebrew word that is used here in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:10 for ‘fool’ is סיל kesil – Strong’s H3684 כ

which means, ‘fool, stupid fellow, dullard (which is a stupid and unimaginative person)’, and comes

from the root verb ל .’kasal – Strong’s H3688 which means, ‘to be or become stupid, foolish כס

The Hebrew word used here for ‘luxury’ is ענוג ,taanug – Strong’s H8588 which means, ‘daintiness ת

luxury, exquisite delight, pleasures’, which comes from the root verb ג anog – Strong’s H6026 which ענ

means, ‘to be soft, dainty, delicate, take delight’. Just like luxury is not fitting for a fool, so too is it not fitting for a servant to rule over princes. What Shelomoh is highlighting for us here, is that which is not functional! In describing what is seen in the world, yet is not fitting, we see the following words, in: Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 “There is an evil I have seen under the sun, as a mistake coming from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in many high positions, while the rich sit in a humble place. 7 I have seen servants on horses – and rulers walking on the ground like servants.” What Shelomoh is basically telling us is that it is not right for fools to live in luxury, and it is even worse when slaves rule over leaders!

Verse 11: “A man’s discretion makes him patient, and his adorning is to pass over a transgression.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘discretion’ is the word שכל seḵel – Strong’s H7922 which

means, ‘insight, discretion, prudence, wisdom’.

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‘Discretion’, according to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, carries the meaning, ‘ability to make responsible decisions, the result of separating or distinguishing’, and ‘prudence’ carries the meaning of, ‘the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason, skill and good judgment in the use of resources, caution or circumspection as to danger or risk’. To be prudent, in the positive sense, is to be marked by wisdom or judiciousness, which is the ability to exercise or be characterized by sound judgment! This can only be done when you watch over the commands and do not let loving-commitment and truth be forsaken!

The Hebrew word for ‘man’ is אדם Aḏam – Strong’s H120 which means, ‘man, mankind, human,

person’ and so this also collectively refers to men and women.

The Hebrew phrase that is translated as ‘makes him patient’ is written as פו he’eriyḵ‘ – האריך א

apo’ and is constructed from three root words:

ך (1 .’araḵ - Strong’s H748 which means, ‘to be long, continue, delay, endure, prolong אר

ף (2 aph – Strong’s H639 which means, ‘a nostril, nose, face, anger’, and this word is frequently used א

as a reference to the anger of both men and Elohim; and anger is often expressed in the appearance of the nostrils that dilate in anger.

This word comes from the root verb אנף anaph – Strong’s H599 which means, ‘to be angry, become

angry’. The description of the one who is impatient could literally be described as one who is ‘short of face’ and has a quick temper.

huw – Strong’s H1931 which is a pronoun that means, ‘he, she, it’, and when joined to the – הוא (3

word ף aph – Strong’s H639 only the letter ‘waw/vav’ is used, known as a ‘ḥolem vav’, which carries א

the ‘o’ sound. The literal rendering here can actually be understood as the delay of one’s anger, in terms of expressing a man’s patience! A person’s ability to make responsible decisions as a result of a proper separation and distinction between what is clean and unclean or between what is set-apart and profane will cause them to be patient and not become prematurely angry.

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘adorning’ is ארה ,tipharah – Strong’s H8597 which means תפ

‘beauty, adornment, splendour’ which is also used to describe what the garments of Aharon and his sons were to be made for as a reflection of the character of Elohim by which He is described, and to which we are to ascribe the splendour of His Name which is to be upon us as set-apart children of the Most-High.

The Hebrew word used here for ‘pass over’ is the root verb ר ,aḇar – Strong’s H5674 which means עב

‘to pass over, pass through, cross over’.

What is interesting to take note of here, is that a derivative of this word ר aḇar is the Hebrew word עב

רי Iḇri – Strong’s H5680 which in English is ‘Hebrew’ and means, ‘the one from beyond, the one עב

who crossed over’. Aḇram was the first person to be called a Hebrew (Berěshith/Genesis 14:13) and we recognise this by his ‘crossing over’ of the Euphrates River, when leaving his father’s house and going into the Promised Land at the call and instruction of Elohim!

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Our ‘passing over’ or becoming a ‘Hebrew’ entails our ability to clearly listen to the commands of Elohim and guard TO DO THEM!! As Aḇraham ‘crossed over’ the Euphrates and became the first ‘Hebrew’, we too realise that we who have ‘Come out of Baḇel’ (which is located ‘across the river’), have crossed over into the marvellous Light of the Master, and being hidden in Him are appointed deliverance and not wrath! Anyone can become a ‘Hebrew’, or one who ‘crosses-over’ – if they will but repent and forsake their

worldly ways and walk in His Torah, being immersed in יהושע Messiah, having ‘crossed over’ from

death to life in Him and redeemed by His Blood, for He has paid the atonement price for our sins! We too, who have ‘crossed over’, so to speak, have become ‘Hebrews’, as we have responded to the clear call of Elohim who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light; and by the Blood of Messiah we are grafted in to the Covenants of Promise with Yisra’ĕl, and therefore being ‘Yisra’ĕl’ by definition, we are in fact also called ‘Hebrews’, as our father Aḇraham was, and are a people now belonging to Messiah!

The Hebrew root word ר aḇar – Strong’s H5674, in the ancient pictographic script, is written as עב

follows:

Ayin - ע:

The original pictograph for this letter is and represents the idea of ‘seeing and watching’, as well as ‘knowledge’. as the eye is the ‘window of knowledge’ and can also render the concept of knowledge revealed!

Beyt – ב:

The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself.

Resh – ר:

The Ancient picture for this letter is , ‘the head of a man’. This letter has the meanings of ‘head or man’ as well as ‘chief, top, beginning or first’. From this pictographic rendering of one who passes/crosses over, we take note that the meaning given here can be understood as:

LOOKING TO THE HOUSE’S HEAD or

THE EYES OF THE HOUSE ARE ON THE HEAD Messiah, is the Head of the Body, that is us, the assembly; which are being up in Him, as living stones that keep their eyes on the Head of the House!

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Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 2:4-5 “Drawing near to Him, a living Stone – rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim and precious – 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart

priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah.”

The pictographic of the word רי :Iḇri – Hebrew looks like this עב

The extra letter that is used at the end of this word is the letter:

Yod – י: The ancient script has this letter as which is ‘an arm and hand’ and carries the meaning of ‘work, make, throw’, from the primary functions of the arm and hand, and it also represents worship or giving thanks in the extending of hands as a gesture of this. The work of one’s hands is the basic meaning of this letter! As true Hebrews, we have our eyes fixed on the Head of the House, because of His work of redemption, as we look to the revealed arm of Elohim!

To whom has the arm of יהוה been revealed?

To those who have turned to the Master the veil has been removed and are therefore able to properly see the deliverance that our Head has secured for us, giving us the strength to look to Him and ‘cross over’, so to speak! As we are properly adorned in set-apartness by the proper guarding of righteousness, we will find that our ability to exercise patience and forgiveness grows!

The Hebrew word used here for ‘transgression’ is ע ,pesha – Strong’s H6588 which means פש

‘rebellion, breach of trust’, and speaks of one’s outright breach of trust and rebellion to walking in the Truth! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” When considering this verse along with this verse in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19 we are able to see how proper love is patient and covers all transgressions: Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 4:8 “And above all have fervent love for one another, because love covers a great number of sins.” The Greek word used here for ‘patient’ in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak) is μακροθυμέω makrothumeō – Strong’s G3114 which means, ‘be patient, have patience, not lose heart, to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring trials and troublesome times, be patient in bearing the offences and injuries of others, slow to anger, longsuffering’; and this word comes from two Greek words: a) - μακρός makros – Strong’s G3117 which means, ‘long, far, distant’ and b) - θυμός thumos – Strong’s G2372 which means, ‘passion, angry tempers, fierce, wrath, outbursts of anger’. Sha’ul tells us in Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient! Ya’aqoḇ/James 5:7-8 “So, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Master. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You too, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master has drawn near.”

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A Greek antonym for this word is ἀδημονέω adēmoneō – Strong’s G85 which means, ‘to be faint, depressed and almost overwhelmed with sorrow or burden of mind, be in distress, distressed’. There are many today who are deeply depressed and are greatly overwhelmed by the trials they face and in the process are unable to express true patient love towards others and toward Elohim, which is revealed in their refusal to walk in the commands. There are also some, who claim to walk in the commands of Elohim, yet their lives are riddled with compromise, and total set-apartness is lacking under the burdened pressures of the world that chokes out the Word and causes them to be faint. When people are fainting under the pressures of the world it simply reveals that their ability to rightly divide the truth is lacking as they lack proper discretion!

Verse 12: “The sovereign’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his delight is like dew on the grass.”

The Hebrew word for ‘wrath’ is ף ,za’aph – Strong’s H2197 which means, ‘a storming, raging, rage זע

fierce, indignation, wrath’, and can also mean, ‘to storm, blow or breath hard’. A person who storms within himself is enraged and breathes out a fierce wrath upon his opponents! This word is used of the raging wrath of Elohim that is coming:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30:30 “And יהוה shall cause His excellent voice to be heard, and show the coming

down of His arm, with raging wrath and the flame of a consuming fire, with scattering, downpour and hailstones.” When His voice is caused to be heard, it will be coming with the raging wrath of His consuming fire! In this parable of Shelomoh we see how he likens a sovereign’s wrath to a roaring lion, and this clearly pictures for us the very daunting sound of the wrath of Elohim that is coming upon the earth!

This word is also used to describe the anger of king Asa, who was rebuked by the prophet of יהוה, as

we see in: Diḇre haYamim Bet/2 Chronicles 16:10 “And Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.”

Asa, sovereign of Yehuḏah, had relied on the sovereign of Aram for help and not on יהוה, when

Ba’asha, the sovereign of Yisra’ĕl, came against Asa and all Yehuḏah.

Asa had taken silver and gold from the House of יהוה and sent it to the sovereign of Aram for help

against Ba’asha.

and told him that he would ,יהוה then sent Ḥanani the prophet to rebuke Asa for not seeking יהוה

have battles from that day onwards:

Diḇre haYamim Bet/2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of יהוה diligently search throughout all the

earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect to Him. You have acted foolishly in this, so from now on you shall have battles.” Asa was enraged at these words and had the prophet thrown into prison. What this teaches us is how enraged a person can become when they are told what they do not like to hear, and when it is someone who is in an authoritive position then those who are subject to him may be greatly oppressed, just as Asa did to some of the people as a result of his wrath! This rage of a man’s heart is likened here by Shelomoh to that of a roaring lion, which is fierce, awesome and extremely frightening!

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To give another picture of the power that this word ף za’aph – Strong’s H2197 describes, we see how זע

it is likened to a sea that is raging, as seen in: Yonah/Jonah 1:15 “Then they took Yonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.” After Yonah was thrown into the sea, it stopped raging!

had sent out a great wind on the sea which caused a huge storm on the sea and caused the יהוה

seamen to be greatly afraid and they thought that the ship was going to be broken up!

This ‘raging wind’ came from the breath of יהוה!!!

Like the roaring of a lion!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘roaring’ is ם naham – Strong’s H5098 which means, ‘to נה

growl or roar (of a lion), to groan (of a sufferer)’.

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘lion’ is פיר ,kephir – Strong’s H3715 which means, ‘lion כ

young lion, village’, and comes from the root verb ר kaphar’ - Strong’s H3722 which means: ‘to‘ כפ

cover over, pacify, make propitiation, atone’. The reason I am mentioning this, is that I find this wording here extremely powerful, as this parable teaches us a vital lesson, of that which is coming on Yom Kippur!

The reason I say this, is that another word that is derived from this root ר kaphar’ - Strong’s H3722‘ כפ

is the word for atonement, which is כפר kippur – Strong’s H3725!

We know that it is on Yom Kippur that we will hear the final trumpet and our Mighty Master and King will come out of His Most Set-Apart Place and take off His priestly robes and put on His Kingly garments and come and trample the winepress in His wrath. The Lion of the Tribe of Yehuḏah, will come with a shout on the day of coverings and will expose those who are not ‘covered’ in Him, as His raging wrath will be seen with the coming down of His Arm, with great fierceness and fire! This is what it will be to those upon whom the wrath of Elohim is poured out! Shelomoh then makes another great statement here in this powerful parable, as he says that while the sovereign’s wrath is like a roaring lion, his delight is like dew on the grass. Here, the contrast between a roaring lion and dew on the grass, pictures for us the clear difference between the reception of the king’s wrath that destroys and kills versus the reception of His great provision that nourishes and gives life!

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘delight’ is the word רצון ratson – Strong’s H7522 which

means, ‘goodwill, favour, acceptance, desired, well-pleased’, and comes from the primitive root verb

.’ratsah – Strong’s H7521 which means, ‘to be pleased with, accept favourably רצה

The Hebrew word for ‘dew’ is ל tal – Strong’s H2919 which means, ‘night mist, dew’, and the image ט

here of ‘dew on the grass’ should easily cause one to be reminded of the words we find in: Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 32:2 “Let my instruction fall as rain, My speech drop down as dew, As fine rain on the tender plants, And as showers on the grass.” This is a part of the song that Mosheh taught the children of Yisra’ĕl.

The Hebrew root word translated as ‘speech’ is רה ,imrah – Strong’s H565 and means, ‘utterance אמ

speech, command’, and this word is predominantly used in Scripture in reference to the Word of יהוה:

Tehillah/Psalm 12:6 “The Words of יהוה are clean Words, silver tried in a furnace of earth, refined

seven times.”

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Tehillah/Psalm 18:30 “The Ěl – His way is perfect; the Word of יהוה is proven; He is a shield to all

who take refuge in Him.” Tehillah/Psalm 119:140 “Your word is tried, exceedingly; and Your servant has loved it.”

As we listen to and follow the clear ‘instructions’ of יהוה as given in His Torah, we make ourselves

ready for the soon return of our Husband and Kinsman Redeemer: Tehillah/Psalm 73:24 “You lead me by Your counsel, and afterward receive me unto esteem.”

The picture of dew on the grass, in relation to the Word of יהוה, we are able to be reminded how it

was in the Wilderness where the morning dew was accompanied with the ‘manna’ and remained when the dew had vanished! His ‘manna’ (Word) came down as ‘dew’, and was available for all!

Figuratively, the favour/delight of יהוה, His speech and the blessing of the unity of the brethren are

likened or compared to the fall of dew, as outlined by Shelomoh in this clear parable. Tehillah/Psalm 133:3 “Like the dew of Ḥermon, that comes down on the mountains of Tsiyon. For

there יהוה commanded the blessing, life forever!”

:s watching over us is like a cloud of dew that refreshes in the heat of the harvest’יהוה

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 18:4 “For thus יהוה said to me, “I am still, and I watch in My dwelling place like

dazzling heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” We also see in Scripture how unfaithfulness is likened to ‘dew’ that goes away early: Hoshěa/Hosea 6:4 “Ephrayim, what would I do with you? Yehuḏah, what would I do with you? For your trustworthiness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away.” Hoshěa/Hosea 13:3 “Therefore they shall be like a morning cloud, and like dew that goes away early, like chaff blown off from a threshing-floor, and like smoke from a window.”

s Word has come down like dew on the grass, for this is His delight! The question is whether we’יהוה

are obedient enough to allow it to nourish us or neglect it and rebel and find ourselves facing His raging wrath when He comes like a lion and ready to consume His opponents!

Verse 13: “A foolish son is a calamity to his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.”

The Hebrew root word that is translated as ‘calamity’ is וה ,havvah – Strong’s H1942 which means ה

‘desire, chasm, destruction, calamity, craving, greed’, which comes from the root word הוה havah –

Strong’s H1933 which means, ‘to become, get’. This word that is used here for ‘calamity’, is used 16 times in the Word and is primarily used to describe calamity or describing the physical state of falling; and when understood that this comes from the root word meaning, ‘to become’, we recognise how wicked man’s desire to be or become like Elohim will fail and he will fall. While this is a clear lesson on what a foolish son is to his father, we are able to recognise the lesson for us here and that is that we are to be wise sons to our Heavenly Father as we guard His commands and walk in His ways!

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The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘contentions’ is מדון maḏon – Strong’s H4066 which means,

‘strife, contention’, and it is from this word that we get the term – the Miḏyanites - ינים the (ha)‘ ה מד

Miḏyanites’ from Strong’s H4084, and so we can understand that the Miḏyanites were a people of ‘strife’.

The phrase ‘continual dripping’ is written in Hebrew as רד ḏeleph toreḏ’, from the two root‘ – דלף ט

words:

deleph – Strong’s H1812 which means, ‘dripping, dropping’, and comes from the root verb דלף (1

ף .’dalaph – Strong’s H1811 which means, ‘to drip, drop, leak, and weep דל

ד (2 .’taraḏ – Strong’s H2956 which means, ‘to pursue, chase, be contentious, constant טר

Both of these words are only used twice in Scripture and both are used to describe a contentious woman: here in this verse, as well as in: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 27:15 “Drops that never cease on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike” The point of comparison that is used here, is that of the annoying quality of the quarreling and the dripping. The troublesome behaviour of a contentious wife, is compared to a dripping rain that does not stop, and is used here to emphasise the irritation that is felt from such a condition! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:14 tells us that the beginning of strife is like releasing water, and we must therefore put a stop to any fighting before it bursts out. We are also told in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:19 that one who causes strife among brothers is an abomination

to יהוה!

Often strife starts out very subtly and if not stopped will become a raging torrent of destruction and separation, which we must guard against at all costs! Don’t let your bitterness be released like a slow running tap… before you know it there is a huge flood of emotions that cannot be contained, bringing unnecessary damage! If you find that you have strife stirring up inside you because you did not get your way, and your water has become soiled and muddied so to speak, then do this… “Switch off the tap, get your leak fixed and start giving out living water again”! What we can learn from this parable is that we are to guard ourselves from becoming foolish sons and make sure that we are not a contentious Bride to our Master!

Verse 14: “Houses and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but an understanding

wife is from יהוה.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘inheritance’ is נחלה naḥalah – Strong’s H5159 which means,

‘possession, property, inheritance, portion, gift’ which comes from the root verb ל naḥal – Strong’s נח

H5157 which means, ‘to get or take as a possession, inherit, acquire, allotted, apportioned’. This root verb signifies the giving or receiving of property, which is part of a permanent possession. One who inherits, would therefore become owner or part owner of that which has been inherited, and from this, we are able to see how the meek will inherit the earth and will therefore rule with Elohim!

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The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘wealth’ is הון hon – Strong’s H1952 which means, ‘wealth,

sufficiency, possession’. The basic meaning of the noun is “goods” or “substance” in sufficient quantity to be considered “riches” or “wealth”.

It comes from the root verb הון hun – Strong’s H1951 which means, ‘to be easy, regarded it as easy,

make light of’, and in terms of wealth it may often give the idea of that which makes life easier. The

Hebrew word for ‘house’ is ית .’bayith – Strong’s H1004 meaning, ‘house, home, armoury, building ב

What this teaches us here is that the inheritance of the true sons and daughters of Elohim is a sure House that will last forever, along with the abundant supply of all that is needed.

The Hebrew word for ‘house’ is ית ,bayith – Strong’s H1004 meaning, ‘house, home, armoury ב

building’, which in the ancient pictographic script looks like this:

Beyt - ב:

This is the letter ‘beyt’ ( ב), which in the ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent

floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself, and is the Dwelling Place of the Most-High, which we are, as we are as living stones being built up in Messiah.

Yod – י:


Taw – ת


His ‘floor plan’ for His Creation, is sealed by His Covenants of promise by the work and Authority of His Mighty Outstretched Arm and Hand, and as living stones are being built up in Him becoming His Dwelling Place! Eph’siyim/Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim, 20 having been built upon the

foundation of the emissaries and prophets, יהושע Messiah Himself being chief corner-stone, 21 in

whom all the building, being joined together, grows into a set-apart Dwelling Place in 22 ,יהוה in

whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit.”

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The sure promise of our inheritance is clearly established in our Master and Elohim! We would certainly be very foolish to neglect such an inheritance by not adhering to walking in His commands here and now, knowing that the narrow path to life is hard-pressed, yet when we enter into the promised inheritance there will be plenty room for us all!

An understanding wife is from יהוה!

The Hebrew word translated here as ‘understanding’ is the from root verb ל saḵal – Strong’s H7919 שכ

which means, ‘to be prudent, act wisely, comprehend, consider, discern, give attention, wisely understand and prosper’. Some translations have rendered this into English as ‘prudent’. Prudence, according to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, carries the meaning of, ‘the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason, skill and good judgment in the use of resources, caution or circumspection as to danger or risk’. To be prudent, in the positive sense, is to be marked by wisdom or judiciousness, which is the ability to exercise or be characterized by sound judgment! In the previous verse, Shelomoh gave us a picture of a contentious wife and here he shows us the

opposite in presenting to us the fact that a proper understanding wife comes from יהוה.

What this teaches us is that, as His Bride, we recognise that we cannot be the true set-apart bride that we are called to be unless we submit to walking in the Torah of our Husband and Elohim! What this verse also highlights for us, on a physical level, is that while much houses and riches can be

inherited from parents, to have an understanding wife, is a gift from יהוה!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:22 “He who has found a wife has found good, and receives favour from יהוה.”

The Hebrew word for ‘wife’ is אשה ishshah – Strong’s H802 which means, ‘woman, wife, female’, and

is depicted in Scripture as the physical counterpart of man, who is deserving of his unswerving loyalty. He who has found a wife has found ‘good’!

The Hebrew word that is used for ‘favour’ is the word רצון ratson – Strong’s H7522 which means,

‘goodwill, favour, acceptance, desired, well-pleased’, and comes from the primitive root verb רצה ratsah – Strong’s H7521 which means, ‘to be pleased with, accept favourably’. This does not say that if a man finds a wife then he will receive favour or be able to obtain favour from

and shows that He has ,יהוה but rather that in finding a wife he has already been favoured by יהוה

been good to you as the wife of a man is a gift from יהוה.

Verse 15: “Laziness makes one fall into a deep sleep, and an idle being suffers hunger.” Laziness will make one want to sleep, when they should be busy working and an idle person will hunger, because he is too lazy to work!

The word used here for ‘laziness’ is לה צ ,atslah – Strong’s H6103 which means, ‘sluggishness ע

slothfulness, laziness, idleness that shows a lack of discipline’ and we see this word also being used in: Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 10:18 “Because of laziness the framework tumbles, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.”

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Being idle or lazy, in guarding the commands of Elohim, will cause one to find themselves falling into a ‘deep sleep’ or intoxicated hypnotic state of lawlessness, where pure obedience in twisted and compromised, while trying to justify the inability to walk perfectly set-apart in Messiah, all because of a little laziness in doing what is required!!! The danger of falling into sleep, in this day and age, is very real and we must guard ourselves against this.

The Hebrew root word for ‘fall’ is ל naphal – Strong’s H5307 meaning, ‘to fall, lie, abandon, fell נפ

down, cast down’, and is often used in Scripture to describe those who have fallen/died by the sword, unnecessarily or tragically, and not of someone who died of old age.

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘deep sleep’ is דמה ר tardemah – Strong’s H8639 which ת

means, ‘deep sleep, sound sleep, trance’, and comes from the root verb ם raḏam – Strong’s H7290 רד

which means, ‘to be in or fall in to heavy sleep, cast into a deep sleep’. We cannot be lazy workers, or sons who are sleeping, while the harvest is great and ready for gathering!!! Yoḥanan/John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and the harvest comes’? See, I say to you, lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are white for harvest – already!” What we see in Scripture, is the clear instruction to sleep when we should and make sure that we are not found sleeping when we should be awake! As simple as that sounds, many find themselves riddled with the worries and cares of this life, and are robbed of the true refreshment that Elohim brings to us as we abide in Him. We should not ‘sleep as others do’, as it says in: Tas’loniqim Aleph/1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 “So, then, we should not sleep, as others do, but we should watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But we who are of the day should be sober, putting on the breastplate of belief and love, and as a helmet the expectation of deliverance.”

The Greek root word that is translated in these verses as ‘sleep’ is καθεύδω katheudō – Strong’s

G2518 which means, ‘fall asleep, drop off, lie down to rest (figuratively or literally)’, and euphemistically it means, ‘to be dead’ and metaphorically it means, ‘to yield to sloth and sin, or be indifferent to one’s salvation’. In other words, this word can be understood metaphorically as describing those who ‘do not care’.

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘idle’ is מיה ,remiyyah – Strong’s H7423 which means ר

‘deceit, treachery, slothful, slack, idle’, which comes from the root verb רמה ramah – Strong’s H7411

which means, ‘to beguile, betray, deal treacherously with’. The idle one is one who is deceitful and this word also means, ‘deceit or treachery as in the state or condition of causing something false to be believed as true (in word or action) and so mislead’. This word is used to describe a backsliding Ephrayim (which is used metaphorically for the scattered House of Yisra’ĕl) who had been like a ‘slack’ bow: Hoshěa/Hosea 7:16 “They return, but not to the Most-High. They have been like a slack bow. Their rulers fall by the sword for the cursings of their tongue. This is their scorn in the land of Mitsrayim.” They had been slack and were being misled into believing that which was false to be true!

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When one is slack you will go where your ears are tickled and where you can get the best treatment that satisfies your individual needs and we see that with so many today who will not partake in community and building the body but rather go wherever they can get something out, never giving of themselves and then quickly move on when they no longer can get their selfish needs met! This is nothing more than a lazy and slack worship that is unable to hit the mark of true worship! The result of laziness is that the lazy, idle and slack ones with suffer hunger! Why? Because they neglect to be sober, watchful and awake! When we are watchful and awake and are guarding the commands of Elohim and keeping His Sabbaths and Feasts, we are fully satisfied with the Word that sustains our beings! Romiyim/Romans 13:11-12 “And do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for us to wake up from sleep, for now our deliverance is nearer than when we did believe. 12 The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” Putting on the armour of light is to put on Messiah and walk in righteousness, which is to guard to do all that Elohim has commanded us to! When we put on the armour of light and walk according to the Torah we are enabled to faithfully serve as a set-apart priesthood in the order of Malkitseḏeq. Failure to guard the Feasts of Elohim will cause the idle to suffer hunger! Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they shall be filled.” Yoḥanan/John 6:33-35 “For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and gives

life to the world.” 34 So they said to Him, “Master, give us this bread always.” 35 And יהושע said to

them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all.”

The Hebrew root word used here in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:15 for ‘hunger’ is רעב raeḇ – Strong’s H7456

which means, ‘famished, to be hungry, suffer hunger’. The first time that this root word is used is in: Berěshith/Genesis 41:55 “But when all the land of Mitsrayim hungered, and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Mitsrites, “Go to Yosĕph, do whatever he says to you.” We are told in:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 10:3 “יהוה does not let the being of the righteous go hungry, but He thrusts away

the desire of the wrong.” Understanding this promise, given here in this proverb of Shelomoh to the righteous, we are able to see a very clear shadow picture of Messiah, through the life of Yosĕph, who would be the one who would satisfy the hunger of the people that came to him and did what he told them! The 7 years of famine had begun and had extended to all the nations and when the people began to cry out in hunger to Pharaoh, he told them to listen to Yosĕph and do whatever he would tell them to do! This famine can also be symbolic for us of a time where there is a famine for the Word – that is, a time when most are being starved for lack of nourishment through the Word, due to neglect and inherited lies and false traditions that are being taught as truth. It is important for us to recognise how during this ‘time of famine’, so to speak, that we listen to our

Master - יהושע Messiah, who is the Bread of life and do whatever He commands us to (that is to obey

His Torah and walk in it) – for then we will survive and be assured that our being shall never hunger! Man does not live on bread alone:

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Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 8:1-3 “Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you

might live, and shall increase, and go in, and shall possess the land of which יהוה swore to your

fathers. 2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the

wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not. 3 “And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that man does not live by bread

alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of יהוה.”

Messiah made it clear to Satan this very truth, when being tempted: Mattithyahu/Matthew 4:4 “But He answering, said, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread

alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה.’”

We must take note that the righteous shall not suffer hunger, and the righteous are those who are

earnestly seeking היהו and guarding to do His Word without compromise!

Tehillah/Psalm 34:10 “Young lions have lacked and been hungry; but those who seek יהוה lack not

any good matter.” Tehillah/Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed begging bread.” What is made abundantly clear is that idleness will not get you properly fed in the abundant provision made available in the Word, whereas the righteous shall not lack!

Verse 16: “He who guards the command guards his life, he who despises His ways dies.” This is an unchanging and central message that we see being given throughout Scripture: Obedience to His commands (His voice) leads to life – disobedience leads to death! The contrast is made here between one who guards the Way and one who despises the Way!

The Hebrew root word for ‘guards’ is ר shamar – Strong’s H8104 and carries the meaning, ‘keep שמ

watch, observe, perform, protect, pay attention, heed’, and the basic idea of the root of this word is ‘to exercise great care over’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘preserve, save life’.

The Hebrew word for ‘commands’ is the word וה ,mitzvah – Strong’s H4687 which means מצ

‘commandment, command, obligation, precept’, which comes from the primitive root צוה tsavah –

Strong’s H6680 which means, ‘to lay charge (upon), give charge to, command, order, appoint, commission, ordain’. Tehillah/Psalm 119:115 “Turn away from me, you evil-doers, for I observe the commands of my Elohim!”

His ות mitzvoth’ (plural for commands) are those rules which apply to specific situations and are‘ – מצ

tailored for each unique situation in determining the correct action to be taken in a specific circumstance and so we ‘guard’ those carefully to know how to respond and take action for any given situation we may find ourselves in.

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The Hebrew root word for ‘despises’ is בזה bazah – Strong’s H959 which means, ‘to despise,

despicable, contempt, careless, to be vile, worthless’, and is used in: Mal’aḵi/Malachi 1:6 “A son esteems his father, and a servant his master. And if I am the Father,

where is My esteem? And if I am a Master, where is My fear? said יהוה of hosts to you priests who

despise My Name. But you asked, ‘In what way have we despised Your Name?’” In the above verse from Mal’aḵi/Malachi the answer to the question of how they were despising the

Name of יהוה is given in the next verse:

Mal’aḵi/Malachi 1:7 “You are presenting defiled food on My altar. But you asked, ‘In what way have

we defiled You?’ Because you say, ‘The table of יהוה is despicable.’”

This rebuke of how they were presenting defiled food and calling the table of יהוה despicable, is a clear

rebuke as to how they were despising the Feasts of יהוה, and contaminating their worship through a

corrupt mix of pagan rooted sun-worship practices that had caused their festivals to become defiled and

unclean before the eyes of Elohim, as they showed no regard for the true Table of יהוה.

In today’s terms we can see this vivid display of many who say the table of יהוה is despicable, simply by

their refusal to keep the Feast of Pěsaḥ/Passover and Matzot/Unleavened Bread, while they continue in bringing defiled and abominable worship in the form of the pagan feast of Easter/Ishtar. Many claim that they are worshipping Elohim, when they observe falsified sun-worship feasts and ‘present defiled food’, so to speak, as they eat yeast products during a feast where no leaven is commanded!!! Hot cross buns and all the Easter eggs are defiled food, and when confronted about this, most Christians will refuse to hear the truth and will call the True Feast of Pěsaḥ/Passover and 7 days of Unleavened

Bread/Matzot ‘despicable’, which is also from the root word בזה bazah – Strong’s H959!

The word ‘despised’ is explained in the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as: ‘to look down on with contempt or aversion; to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful’, and herein lies a very severe warning to those who regard the Torah as negligible, worthless or distasteful, and treat with

contempt the Name of יהוה.

The choice is clear – fear יהוה and walk in straightness as true upright ones of the Most-High by waking

in His Torah, or walk in your own ways and despise Him and face the fate of the wrong!

The Hebrew root word or ‘ways’ is דרך dereḵ – Strong’s H1870 which means, ‘way, road, distance,

journey’ and is from the word ך daraḵ – Strong’s H1869 which means, ‘to tread or march’, and דר

when used in reference to the ways of Elohim we are clearly able to see that this is a clear caution given to those who neglect to walk as our Master walked! Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:3-6 “And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. 4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.” And the first time this word is used in in: Berěshith/Genesis 3:24 “and He drove the man out. And He placed kerubim at the east of the garden of Ěḏen, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

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Due to the sin of Aḏam and Ḥawwah, they were driven out of the garden of Ěḏen, and driven from the

presence of יהוה, with no access to the way to the tree of life! Before they were driven out Elohim

made for them coats of skin, and in this we are able to see the powerful shadow picture of the

protection and covering we have in יהושע Messiah, the Passover Lamb that was slain for us, in order

that we can once again be brought near to the presence of Elohim and have access to the tree of life and have the full assurance of an everlasting life with our Master who shall come and receive us to Himself! In the ancient pictographic symbols of this word, we are given a greater insight in understanding how

!Messiah is THE WAY יהושע

This word - דרך dereḵ – Strong’s H1870, in the ancient script, looks like this:

Dalet – ד

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as a ‘tent door’. It can also have the meaning of a back and forth movement as one goes back and forth through a tent door and so speaks of an access point. It can also carry the meaning of ‘dangle’ or hanging as the tent door would hang from the roof pole of the tent. It speaks a great deal in terms of understanding the door of the tent of appointment as the only means of access.

Resh - ר

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘the head of a man’ and has the meaning of the head of a man as well as chief, top, begging or first. Top as in the top or head of a body and chief and is head of a tribe or people as well as the one who rules the people.

Kaph - כ:

The ancient form of this letter is pictured as - which is ‘an open palm of a hand’. The meaning behind this letter is ‘to bend and curve’ from the shape of a palm as well as ‘to tame or subdue’ as one has been bent to another’s will (under their hand), as an open hand symbolises submission. This also can picture for us a palm or palm branch from the curved palm shape. This also pictures for us that which has been openly revealed – by the ‘open hand’, or the revelation of the hand that has worked a function!

As we consider these three pictures in making up the Hebrew word דרך dereḵ, in reference to this

meaning THE WAY, we can clearly see how it is יהושע Messiah who is THE WAY.

As we come to the DOOR of the Tent of APPOINTMENT, we are able to come and submit under the hand of our Master and Chief, who gives us access into His presence. Yoḥanan/John 10:19 “I am the door. Whoever enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and find pasture.” As one understands the design and service of the Tabernacle, then we are able to understand perfectly the clear words of our Master. It was at the door of the Tabernacle that the people would bring their offerings to the Priest, and before they were able to enter, they needed to be washed.

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Looking at this ancient pictographic of the word that renders for us the meaning of THE WAY, we are also able to see the clear work of our Master, who is the Lamb that was slain, and it was His hands that took the nails for us, and in doing so released us from the dogmas which stood against us! His shed blood covers us from the punishment of death, as long as we remain in Him! The Houses that applied the blood of the lamb to the doorposts of their homes would not be visited by the Messenger of death, but would be passed over, as the final plague in Mitsrayim swept over the land, killing every first born of those homes that did not have the blood on their doorposts! When Messiah said that He was the Living Bread, and that the bread that He gives is His flesh, which He would give for the life of the world, the Yehuḏim were striving with one another asking how He could give them His flesh to eat and He answered them clearly in:

Yoḥanan/John 6:53 “יהושע therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the

flesh of the Son of Aḏam and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day. 55 “For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him.” This was a hard teaching for most and many turned away from following the Master, as they found these words too harsh to hear and understand. What Messiah was clearly teaching here is that unless we eat of the Pěsaḥ Meal, we have no access into life. The Passover Meal and the Feast of Matzot is a sign on our hands and our foreheads that we belong to the Master and that we abide in Him and He in us, and that we have come to the Door and confessed our sins, having been immersed in Him and washed by His Blood, are now able to have access into the House into which we must abide, as we are built up in Him as living stones! The WAY for us to return from sin and destruction, is to come to the Door and acknowledge the work of the Master as we guard to keep His Feasts. When Messiah showed Himself to His taught ones, after His resurrection, T’oma was not there the first time and he said that unless he sees in the Master’s hands the mark of the nails, and was able to put his finger into the imprints of the nails and into the Master’s side, that he would not believe. When the Master appeared a second time, while T’oma was present we see the following in: Yoḥanan/John 20:27-28 “Then He said to T’oma, “Bring your finger here, and see My hands. And bring your hand and put it into My side – and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And T’oma answered and said to Him, “My Master and my Elohim!”

The Hand of Elohim had now been revealed to T’oma and He acknowledged that יהושע Messiah was

his Master and Elohim!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 53:1 “Who has believed our report? And to whom was the arm of יהוה revealed?”

Messiah is THE WAY – the Outstretched Arm and Hand of Elohim that has been revealed, and we who partake in the Pěsaḥ Meal and guard to keep all His Feasts, have access to the WAY He has called us to walk in! Despise the WAY and you will die!

The Hebrew word translated here as ‘dies’ comes from the root verb מות muth – Strong’s H4191 which

means, ‘to die, bring about my death, put to death’. As we walk in the clear instructions (Torah) of Elohim we walk in life and are delivered from the clear punishment of death, for the punishment of sin, which is lawlessness, is death!

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Mishlĕ/Proverbs 13:13 “He who despises the Word is destroyed, but he who fears the command is rewarded.” There is a clear contrast drawn here between the one who despises the Word and one who fears the command is rewarded. What is also made very clear is that the terms ‘Word’ and ‘command’ are used as synonyms, teaching us that you cannot separate the commands from the Word or vice versa! Having said that, it becomes abundantly clear how so many people are despising the Word when they neglect to do the commands and erroneously claim that they have been done away with!

The Hebrew root word for ‘Word’ is רדב daḇar – Strong’s H1697 meaning, ‘speech, word,

commandment, chronicles, message’ which in its primitive root form - ר daḇar – Strong’s H1696 דב

means, ‘to speak, command, counsel, declare, proclaimed, converse, warn, threaten, promise’.

The Word of יהוה is living and active and His Word does not return empty:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 55:11 “so is My Word that goes forth from My mouth – it does not return to Me empty, but shall do what I please, and shall certainly accomplish what I sent it for.”

The 5th book of the Torah (Deuteronomy), which is called “DEḆARIM” – ברים plural of the word - ד

daḇar – Strong’s H1697 meaning, ‘speech, word, commandment, chronicles, message’ which in דבר

its primitive root form - ר ,dabar – Strong’s H1696 means, ‘to speak, command, counsel, declare דב

proclaimed, converse, warn, threaten, promise’. Deḇarim (Deuteronomy) is often understood as the ‘powerhouse’ that holds the vision and the mandate

we have in יהושע Messiah.

We who choose to ‘walk and obey’ the ‘Words’ of יהוה that we ‘hear, guard and do’ find that it

becomes a place of anointing, righteousness and empowerment, and it is like the mantle of anointing and responsibility the Eliyahu passed on to Elisha. The Word of Elohim (includes the collection of all His instructions contained throughout the Scriptures) is that which washes us, teaches us, and trains us in righteousness – and by the life, death and resurrection has been poured out for us so that we may have abundant life in Him!

As we consider this word - ברים daḇar – Strong’s H1697, in the דבר Deḇarim- plural of the word ד

ancient pictographic script, we are able to recognise the importance of the Word of Elohim, and how it is His Word that prepares us as His ready Bride!

In the ancient script the word ברים :Deḇarim, looks like this ד

Dalet – ד:

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The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as a ‘tent door’. It can also have the meaning of a back and forth movement, as one goes back and forth through a tent door; and so, speaks of an access point. It can also carry the meaning of ‘dangle’ or hanging, as the tent door would hang from the roof pole of the tent. It speaks a great deal of understanding the door of the tent of appointment as the

only means of access, showing us the importance of the Appointed Times/Feasts of יהוה. Therefore,

our need to gather as we are commanded to is the starting point for us to embrace, learn and understand what His Word teaches and instructs us to do.

Beyt - ב:

The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself. We also recognise that the House/Dwelling Place of Elohim is the body of Elohim that is

built up as living stones in our Master, יהושע Messiah. A house/tent speaks of your family and to

whom you belong and under whom you submit and adhere to, as the House of Elohim has clear instructions for those in the House! The Light (that is His Word) is for those in the House!

Resh – ר:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘the head of a man’ and has the meaning of the head of a man as well as ‘chief, top, begging or first’. The meaning is ‘top’ as in the top or head of a body and ‘chief’ as in a head of a tribe or people; as well as the one who rules the people. Every House has a head of the home, and all in the House submit to the instructions of the One who is head of the home, listening to and obeying the words that the Head speaks!

Yod – י:

The ancient script has this letter as which is ‘an arm and hand’, and carries the meaning of ‘work, make, throw’, from the primary functions of the arm and hand, and it also represents worship or giving thanks in the extending of hands as a gesture of this. The work of one’s hands is the basic meaning of this letter! And this letter also pictures for us the outstretched Arm and working Hand of Elohim, which is not too short to save!

Mem – ם:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. Water is also a very clear picture for us of that which washes or cleanses us, as we understand from the picture of the bronze laver in the Tabernacle that was used to clean the priests, and was made from the bronze mirrors that was used by the women who worshipped at the Door of the Tabernacle. As we look into the mirror of the Word of Elohim, we are to allow it to cleanse us and cause us to remember how we are to look, speak and act, in complete adherence to His clear words of instructions contained therein!

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As we consider the very powerful word - ברים Deḇarim – in the ancient pictographic text, we are ד

able to grasp a fuller understanding of the importance of the Words of Elohim, and we are able to see from the collection of these letters the following:

As we come to the Door (Messiah), and guard His Appointed Times/Feasts that are commanded for The House/Dwelling Place of Elohim, we submit under the Head of the House/Body, for it is by His Outstretched Arm and Hand that we are delivered out of the nations and cleansed to be a set-apart Bride, that submits to the complete Authority of the Words of our Master and King! To ‘despise’ the Word is to ‘hold as insignificant’ the clear redemptive work of our Master and Elohim, and those who cast aside His Word shall be destroyed!

Verse 17:

“He who shows favour to the poor lends to יהוה, and He repays his deed.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:21 tells us that the one who favours the poor is blessed. Showing favour to the poor, is something that is taken very seriously in the Word, and we would do well to make sure that we do not neglect any opportunity to help those poor who are within our gates, or a servant that has been hired and is poor. Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 15:7-8 “When there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, within any

of the gates in your land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, do not harden your heart nor shut

your hand from your poor brother, 8 for you shall certainly open your hand to him and certainly lend him enough for his need, whatever he needs.” Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 24:14-15 “Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of the strangers who is in your land within your gates. 15 “Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and lifts up his being to it, so that he does not

cry out against you to יהוה, and it shall be sin in you.”

Let us take a look at a few verses that are self-explanatory on this subject that Shelomoh is writings for us here:

Tehillah/Psalm 41:1-2 “Blessed is he who considers the poor; יהוה does deliver him in a day of evil. 2

does guard him and keep him alive; he is blessed on the earth, and You do not hand him over to יהוה

the desire of his enemies.” Mishlĕ/proverbs 28:27 “He who gives to the poor does not lack, but he who hides his eyes does have many curses.” Ya’aqoḇ/James 2:14-17 “My brothers, what use is it for anyone to say he has belief but does not have works? This belief is unable to save him. 15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, 16 but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it? 17 So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘poor’ here in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:17 is ל dal – Strong’s H1800 ד

which means, ‘low, weak, poor, thin, depressed, needy’, and comes from the word ל – dalal דל

Strong’s H1809 which means, ‘to hang, brought low, distress’.

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When one is in want, depression is a very serious poison that can cripple a person and bring them to a place of ruin, and here, we are taught that there is a great blessing in helping those among us who are in need.

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘repays’ is שלם shalem – Strong’s H7999 which means, ‘to

be complete or sound, finished, fully repay, make and end, make full restitution’. Our reward is in the heavens and is great and it is coming when the Master comes in His esteem. We must be faithful and overcome as we guard His commands, and makes sure that we do not neglect those who are poor among us.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘deed’ is מול ,gemul – Strong’s H1576 which means, ‘a dealing ג

recompense, benefit, what is deserved’, and comes from the root verb ל gamal – Strong’s H1580 גמ

meaning, ‘to deal fully or adequately with, to deal out to, wean, compensate, repay’.

What we can therefore learn from this parable is that יהוה is the One who will repay or reward our

deeds and gives each one what they deserve. This can certainly have a positive meaning with full assurance of being rewarded for dealing righteously in all we do, yet we also take note that those who neglect to show favour and kindness toward others will also be rewarded according to their deeds or lack thereof due to wickedness or selfishness. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:14 tells us that the work of a man’s hand is given back to him! What we are able to clearly see here is that each one will get back what is deserved, according to the work of their hands, be it the blessing for obedience or the curse for disobedience! The great encouragement that Shelomoh gives us, in this parable, is that we have the firm assurance of receiving the true recompense of Elohim and should therefore, be greatly encouraged to be willing to show favour toward others, when it is the power of our hands to do so, without seeking a reward from man!

He who shows favour to the poor ‘lends’ to יהוה!

What I find very interesting to take note of here, is that the Hebrew root word for ‘lends’ is לוה lavah –

Strong’s H3867 and means, ‘to be joined to, cleave, unite, abide, lend’ and more significantly, in Scripture, we see the term being used of those who seek to ‘join themselves’ to Elohim and this is what shall happen in these last days:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 50:4-5 “In those days and at that time,” declares יהוה, “the children of Yisra’ĕl

shall come, they and the children of Yehuḏah together, weeping as they come, and seek יהוה their

Elohim. 5 “They shall ask the way to Tsiyon, their faces toward it, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to

”’.in an everlasting covenant, never to be forgotten ,יהוה

Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 2:11 “And many gentiles shall be joined to יהוה in that day, and they shall

become My people. And I shall dwell in your midst. And you shall know that יהוה of hosts has sent

Me to you.” We are joined together in Messiah, our High Priest as a kingdom of priests able and equipped in Him to guard the duty of the Dwelling Place.

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Eph’siyim/Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim, 20 having been built upon the

foundation of the emissaries and prophets, יהושע Messiah Himself being chief corner-stone, 21 in

whom all the building, being joined together, grows into a set-apart Dwelling Place in 22, יהוה in

whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit.” As the body of Messiah, we are able to fully recognise our role as a set-apart priesthood that is joined to our Master and Elohim, and joined together as a His body, which is to show His favour toward others, for when we do so, we are in fact clearly revealing that we, as faithful ambassadors of His coming reign, are joined to the Most-High Elohim, who shows favour and loving-commitment to all who call upon His Name! When we recognise this then our ability to show favour to the poor should become far easier and a natural working of His Word that dwells within us.

Verse 18: “Discipline your son because there is expectation, and do not set your being on his destruction.” This parable clearly highlights for us the need for proper discipline to be executed, for without discipline hope is lost!

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘discipline’ comes from the primitive root verb ר – yasar יס

Strong’s H3256 which means, ‘to discipline, admonish, correct, teach’. Mishlĕ/Proverbs speaks of discipline with the emphasis on instruction, and to answer the question of how discipline is administered, we can see in: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 22:15 “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”

The Hebrew noun מוסר musar – Strong’s H4148 which means, ‘discipline, chastening, correction,

reproof, punishment, warning’, is used here for ‘discipline’ and comes from the primitive root verb ר יסyasar – Strong’s H3256

The verb ר yasar – Strong’s H3256 is used in Scripture 43 times with 5 of those being found in יס

Mishlĕ/Proverbs and the noun מוסר musar – Strong’s H4148 is used 50 times in Scripture, and of

those 50 times, we see it being used in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 30 times, hence our clear understanding of how Mishlĕ/Proverbs carries a great and important theme of the discipline of wisdom that is needed in our lives! There is certainly great wisdom in true discipline!

True wisdom accepts the discipline and instruction of יהוה, and sadly there are many today, who claim

to love Elohim and claim to be followers of the Master, and will even recite many verses contained in the Covenants of Promise, yet they so easily discard the need to walk in the Torah of Elohim, and quickly cast aside His clear instructions! Tehillah/Psalm 50:16-17 “But to the wrong Elohim said, “What right have you to recite My laws, or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 “While you hated instruction and cast My Words behind you?”

The Hebrew word used here for ‘instruction’ is מוסר musar – Strong’s H4148!

In other words, many will talk the talk, yet hate the walk, or rather hate the needed discipline required to live true set-apart lives, and will quickly cast the word of Elohim behind them, instead of letting it be a light for their path ahead of them!

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The Greek verb that is used in the LXX (Septuagint) in this Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:18 for ‘discipline’ is

παιδεύω paideuō – Strong’s G3811 meaning, ‘to train children, to chasten, instruct, correct, discipline,

correcting, educating’, and this word is also used in the following verse: Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:7 “If you endure discipline, Elohim is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline?” We also see this word used, in the clear wakeup call that is given to the lukewarm assembly, in: Ḥazon/Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. So be ardent and repent.”

The Greek noun that is used in the LXX as the equivalent to the Hebrew noun מוסר musar – Strong’s

H4148 is the word παιδεία paideia – Strong’s G3809 which means, ‘the repairing of a child, training, discipline’. It is used 6 times in the Renewed Writings (N.T.), 4 of which is used in Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12 which deals with our need, as children of the Most-High, to accept the much-needed discipline of a Loving Father! It is also used in Sha’ul’s letter to Timotiyos and translated as ‘instruction’ in: Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.” We need the Word to instruct us in righteousness; and to despise the instruction and discipline of the Word is foolish, and as mentioned already – fools die for lack of discipline!

The Greek word used for a ‘taught one’ or ‘disciple’ of Messiah is μαθητής mathētēs – Strong’s G3101

which means, ‘disciple, pupil, student, taught one or one who is learning’, which comes from the word

μανθάνω manthanō – Strong’s G3129 which means, ‘learn by use, practice’ and the basic meaning of

this Greek word is understood as, ‘to experience’, and the use of this word implies an intellectual concern, which can therefore also render for us the understanding of, ‘seek to experience’ or, ‘learn to know’; and this word is also used in the Greek language with the understanding of, ‘learning skills under instruction’.

This word comes from the root μαθ- math which means, ‘to learn, educated, receive instruction’. A

true ‘disciple’ of our Master and Elohim, is one who is ‘disciplined’ and learns by receiving instruction and taking heed to walk in it! Many claim to be disciples of Messiah, yet clearly, they lack the ‘discipline of separation’.

As we look at this word for ‘discipline’ – מוסר musar – Strong’s H4148 in the ancient pictographic

lettering, we are able to glean a better understanding of our need to be a disciplined people!

In the ancient pictographic alphabet, this Hebrew word for ‘discipline’ - מוסר musar – Strong’s H4148,

looks like this:

Mem - מ:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. Knowing this letter represents ‘water’, we are also able to see how this can render for us the meaning of ‘washing’ or ‘cleansing’.

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Waw/Vav – ו:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is a ‘peg’ or ‘tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’. It is by the work of Messiah, in His own Blood, that has secured for us His Covenants of promise, to which we are added to; and His righteousness stands forever secured in Him!

Samek - ס:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is a thorn and has the meanings of ‘pierce and sharp’ and can also carry the meaning of ‘a shield’, as thorn bushes were used by shepherds to build a wall to enclose their flock in the night against the attack of predators. Another meaning would be ‘to grab hold of’ as a thorn is a seed that clings to hair and clothing. The Word of Elohim is sharper than a doubled edged sword and when we find that we do not grab hold of His word and allow His Word to be our shield of faith, we may find ourselves being pierced through with sin and compromise! Our praise we have for our Master is that in Him we are upheld forever, for He is the shield of our Help, as He Himself took the crown of thorns upon His head, bearing our sin and shame that we may be found to be shielded in Him! It can also give a meaning of ‘turning’, for it is the thorn that turns us away from danger and to that which is secure.

Resh - ר:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘the head of a man’ and carries the meaning of ‘top, beginning, first, chief’, as in being the top of the body or the head of a tribe and the one who rules; and also speaks of possession or inheritance that is decided by the chief. Our true life of praise

unto יהוה, our Head, begins when we fear Him, for He is the beginning of our strength, and true

separated praise entails a true fear of the One who is Chief over us!

When we look at these letters in their ancient pictographic form, we are able to clearly see what true discipline entails, as we are to turn away from all wickedness and turn to our Head and Master; and to do so takes great discipline. For:

It is through the disciplined continual washing of water by the Word that secures and establishes us, that we are enabled to turn our eyes to our Master and grab hold of His word! True discipline for a true taught one of the Master, involves a committed fixing of one’s eyes on Him! Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:1-2 “We too, then, having so great a cloud of witnesses all around us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set

before us, 2 looking to the Princely Leader and Perfecter of our belief, יהושע, who for the joy that

was set before Him endured the stake, having despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.”

In a nutshell, we could best understand this term for discipline in the Hebrew - מוסר musar – Strong’s

H4148 – as a term that clearly emphasises our need to be constantly turning our head/eyes to our True Head – and this we do by allowing the Word to wash us and establish us as a true disciplined disciple/taught one of Messiah!

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While Shelomoh is clearly teaching us that a father must discipline his son, for in it there is expectation, we recognise the powerful parable of how loving our Master and Elohim is toward us, for Iḇ’rim/Hebrews teaches us that if we endure discipline, then Elohim is treating us as sons, and Messiah made it clear in His message to the assembly in Laodikeia, that as many as He loves He reproves and disciplines. With true discipline there is expectation!

The Hebrew word used for ‘expectation’ is וה ,tiqvah – Strong’s H8615 which means, ‘longing תק

expectancy, hope’, which comes from the root word קוה qavah – Strong’s H6960 meaning, ‘to wait

for, eagerly wait, expect, hopefully waiting’. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 11:7 tells us that the expectation of the wrong perishes when he dies which teaches us that those who despise discipline and do not out there

hope in יהוה our Messiah, will be blotted out, while those who wait on יהוה and endure His loving

discipline shall look forward to the resulting joy of His soon return.

!is the expectation of Yisra’ĕl יהוה

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 14:8 “O Expectation of Yisra’ĕl, its Saviour in time of distress, why should You be like a stranger in the land, or like a traveller who turns aside to lodge?”

These were the words of Yirmeyahu after the word of יהוה came to Yirmeyahu concerning droughts

and the fact that there would be no rain due to lack of obedience. Yirmeyahu appeals to יהוה to act for

His Name’s sake, and says, “though our crookednesses witness against us” and acknowledges and says, “our backslidings have been many, we have sinned against You.” (Verse 7). An in his urgent appeal to

.’as, ‘Expectation of Yisra’ĕl, its Saviour יהוה Yirmeyahu addresses ,יהוה

The word used for ‘its Saviour’ is שיעומו – ‘moshiyao’ – which is another variant in the structure of the

Hebrew term מושיע Moshiya, used to highlight who our Saviour is – and having said that – it highlights

who our “Messiah” is (as an English transliteration of the term)! For more detailed information on this vital truth please see the article called YHWH our Saviour which can be found on our site (https://atfotc.com) under the ‘articles’ menu or by clicking on the following link: https://atfotc.com/yhwh-our-saviour-yhwh-our-messiah/

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘expectation’ in Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 14:8 is the noun וה מקmiqveh – Strong’s H4723 which means, ‘hope, expectation’, as well as being translated as ‘a collection or gathering of waters’.

It comes from the root verb קוה qavah – Strong’s H6960 meaning, ‘to wait for, eagerly wait, expect,

hopefully waiting’, and when we are instructed to ‘wait on יהוה’, it carries the intensity of being

commanded to look eagerly for the soon return of our Light, Saviour and Refuge in who we continually

trust and praise and are taught by; for when we wait on יהוה our strength is renewed – and waiting on

.requires our active response to who He is, with great intensity יהוה

The Expectation of Yisra’ĕl is the Saviour of Yisra’ĕl – the One who saves and brings to us the Living Waters! As we look at the ancient pictographic rendering of this word for ‘expectation’ we are able to fully confirm and see what is clearly being expressed in prophecy here.

https://atfotc.com/

https://atfotc.com/yhwh-our-saviour-yhwh-our-messiah/

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In the ancient Hebrew pictographic script, the word וה ,miqveh – Strong’s H4723 which means מק

‘hope, expectation’, as well as being translated as ‘a collection of gathering of waters’, looks like this:

Mem - מ:


Quph – ק:

This is the letter ‘quph’, which is pictured as , and is a ‘horizon’ and depicts the elements of ‘time’, as it pictures the sun in its rising and setting. It therefore carries the meaning of ‘circle’ or ‘to go around’, representing for us both, appointed cycles or times as well as eternity.

Waw/vav - ו:

The ancient pictographic from of this letter is , and is pictured as ‘a peg’ or ‘tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’.

Hey – ה:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘a man standing with his arms raised out’. The Hebrew word “hey” means “behold”, as when looking at a great sight and can also mean “breath” or “sigh” as when one sighs in amazement when looking at a great sight. It also carries for us the

meaning of surrender, as we lift up our hands and submit to יהוה as we lift our hands in praise,

declaring His authority under which we humbly submit! As we look at these letter pictures, we are able to see the fuller meaning of the word used for ‘expectation’ in referring to the One who is our Saviour! The collection of these letters, can render for us the meaning of:

“The waters that are forever secured in the One who is to be praised!” or:

“The washing that is forever secured in the One to be praised!” or when considering that the waters can be a reference to the nations that will come forth and be delivered out of the chaos of sin and destruction, we could see the meaning of:

“Behold the One who secures the gathering of the nations!”

What is worth noting is that this word וה miqveh – Strong’s H4723 is only used 12 times in מק

Scripture, and the first time it is used, is in:

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Berěshith/Genesis 1:10 “And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.”

Here, it is translated as ‘collection’, in referring to the gathering of the waters and the root word קוה qavah – Strong’s H6960 is used in verse 9 where He commanded the ‘gathering’ of the waters, so that the dry land could appear! This is a powerful picture being set forth here for us, as we see the word of Elohim that brings order out of chaos, by the gathering of the seas to bring forth the land, from which He would form and fashion man in His image! Sin brought forth chaos to that which was made good and, as a result, the Expectation had to come to restore order and bring back a restoration to His image in man! The Expectation and Saviour of Yisra’ĕl was made very clear in Scripture – they were expectant of a Saviour to come and deliver them from destruction and from the oppression of their enemies. And here, in Yirmeyahu, we see clear evidence that “The Expectation of Yisra’ĕl” is the Messiah – The one who would come and save us and wash us completely from our sin! We further see the confirmation of who the expectation is, as we take a look at another couple of verses in Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 17:13 “O יהוה, the expectation of Yisra’ĕl, all who forsake You are put to

shame. “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken יהוה,

the fountain of living waters.”

In this verse, Yirmeyahu clearly calls יהוה, “The Expectation of Yisra’ĕl”, and anyone who would

forsake Him would be put to shame and those who depart from “The Expectation of Yisra’ĕl” would be written in the earth!

Here in this verse, is another clear title being given to יהוה, “The Expectation of Yisra’ĕl”, and that is

“The Fountain of Living Waters”!!! The wrong who despise the discipline of Elohim have no expectation, whereas the righteous who endure His discipline do!!! Shelomoh teaches us this very clearly as he is basically telling us that when a father does not discipline his son, he is setting his heart up for destruction and death, leaving him no expectation at all!

Verse 19: “One of great wrath bears punishment; for if you rescue him, you only have to do it again.”

The Hebrew word used for ‘wrath’ is חמה ḥemah – Strong’s H2534 which means, ‘heat, rage, anger,

hot displeasure, wrath’, and we see this word being used in in: Tehillah/Psalm 90:7 “For we have been consumed by Your displeasure, and by Your wrath we are alarmed.”

In this prayer it is clear that it is by displeasure and wrath of יהוה that we are consumed and alarmed!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘alarmed’ is ל bahal – Strong’s H926 which means, ‘to בה

disturb, terrify, tremble’. His wrath causes us to tremble and, in His displeasure, we are consumed! Knowing this we recognise that in our sin we stand powerless before the wrath and displeasure of Elohim, and without a true intercessor we have only one fate and that is to return to dust!

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What Shelomoh is showing us here, in this parable, is that a man who is extremely angry will pay for or that one who is fined is extremely enraged.

The Hebrew root word for ‘great’ is רל ’goral – Strong’s H1632 which means, ‘great, harsh, rough ג

and is only used here in Scripture and is thought to come from the same unused root word that the

word גורל goral – Strong’s H1486 comes from, which means, ‘a lot, allotted, choice, territory

allotted’.

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘punishment’ comes from the root word נש – onesh ע

Strong’s H6066 which means, ‘fine, an indemnity, penalty’, and this comes from the root word ענש anash – Strong’s H6064 which means, ‘to fine, pay penalty, punish, condemn, punish by a fine, defraud’. What we are able to recognise here, is that the one who is allotted wrath will pay the penalty. Shelomoh goes and teaches us, that if the one who is allotted wrath is rescued, he will simply have to be rescued again, as he would not change his ways! The first line is a statement and fact that those who are allotted wrath will be punished.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:26 tells us that it is not good to punish (ענש anash – Strong’s H6064) righteous

ones, and herein lies the understanding of this parable and that is that the righteous are not allotted wrath, and no matter how many times an unrighteous one is rescued from paying the penalty for sin and lawlessness he will keep on being unrighteous!

The Hebrew root word for ‘rescue’ is ל ,natsal – Strong’s H5337 which means, ‘to strip, plunder נצ

deliver oneself, be delivered, snatch away, deliver, recover, escape’. This is also written in the causative ‘hiphil’ form, which can render the meaning, ‘to take away, snatch away, to rescue, recover, to deliver (from enemies or troubles or death), to deliver from sin and guilt’. True righteousness – which is to guard to do all that our Master, Redeemer and King has commanded us to do through His Torah and commands – delivers from death! Tehillah/Psalm 18:17 “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those hating me, for they were stronger than I.” What Shelomoh is showing us, is that one who continues to bear great wrath, because of unrighteousness and sin, cannot be rescued. When I consider this sobering reality, I am reminded of how so many people who claim to come to the Saviour and make a recited confession at an orchestrated ‘altar call’, will just simply return to doing what they always did and what they confessed was wrong! Their assumption of being ‘rescued’ under a falsified banner of grace does not cause them to turn away from unrighteousness and run in the way of the commands as they quickly return to their own folly and sin and may even find themselves back at a man-made altar call that cannot save or rescue! Mishlĕ/Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” Those who are appointed to wrath have never truly repented, and no matter how many times they are rescued they remain unrepentant! Those who hear the Truth and respond correctly and are delivered are appointed to everlasting life, while those who turn away their ear from the Truth are appointed to the wrath of Elohim! This parable of Shelomoh is also made clearer through the parable our Master gave about what happens when an unclean spirit goes out of a man and his house is not kept clean!

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Mattithyahu/Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 “Then it says, ‘I shall return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and decorated. 45 “Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Verse 20: “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, so that you are wise in your latter end.”

After making it clear the fate of those who are appointed to wrath and the sure punishment that they will face, Shelomoh gives a clear instruction that will keep one hidden in the Master on the day of His wrath! The way to ensure that we are found to be wise taught ones of the Master and not be fools, is to listen to counsel and accept discipline!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘listen’ is ע shama’ – Strong’s H8085, which carries the‘ שמ

meaning not just simply to hear, but rather, ‘to hear with attention and comprehend and discern and give heed to what is being spoken’. Shemoth/Exodus 19:5-6 “And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine – 6 ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl.” These verses make it very clear – for us to truly be a treasured possession of the Most-High, we are to make sure that we obey His voice and guard His Covenant.

In the above verse, the root word ע shama’ is used twice in a row, which means to ‘hear, listen and‘ שמ

obey’. The structure is as follows:

עו מ ”im-shamoa tishmau’ which literally translates as: “If hearing, you shall hear‘ - אם־שמוע ת ש

and this reminds me of how often we see the term being used in Ḥazon/Revelation to the assemblies: “He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit says.” The call here is to hear the depths of what is being spoken – hear the spirit that lies behind the letter! Now, if people are not even listening to the letter, how are they ever going to hear what the Spirit says!!!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘counsel’ comes from the root word עצה etsah – Strong’s

H6098 which means, ‘counsel, advice, purpose’. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:15 tells us that the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.

Stubborn people work out or observe their own or another’s advice, apart from יהוה!

They avoid the counsel of Elohim and neglect to keep His commands, while they will seek to reason out their own counsel that is worked in darkness and not in the light of His Word, and in the process, try to

hide far from יהוה, just and Aḏam and Ḥawwah did, when they sinned and tried to hide, seeking their

own counsel of what to do, in the dark, trying to cover their exposed nakedness without complete

surrender and the proper seeking of יהוה’s counsel, in an intentional refusal to yield to His reproof!

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Yeshayahu/Isaiah 29:15 “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from יהוה, and their

works are in the dark; they say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” We must not only listen to counsel but we must also ‘accept discipline’!!! Many may listen to counsel, or better put, they give the appearance of listening while their ability to accept the necessary discipline that comes with a proper hearing is hindered as they refuse to do what is required!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘accept’ is ל ,qaḇal – Strong’s H6901 which means, ‘to take קב

receive, choose, accept, take hold, undertake’, and the basic idea of this verb is to receive something that is given. They result of a proper listening to counsel and the accepting of discipline is the assurance of being wise in the latter end!

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘wise’ comes from the primitive root word ם – ḥaḵam חכ

Strong’s H2449 meaning, ‘to be wise, skilful, make wise’. To be wise means to be one who is skilled or learned and this takes time, determination and discipline! The evidence of one being wise is seen in how one is increasing in their learning, as they give their ear – that is their full attention – to hearing proper instructions that are given from the Father and living as a taught one of the Master.

It is from this root verb, that we get the Hebrew noun for ‘wisdom’ which is the word מה – ḥoḵmah חכ

Strong’s H2451 meaning, ‘wisdom, skill’.

In the ancient pictographic alphabet, this Hebrew word for ‘wisdom’ - מה ḥoḵmah – Strong’s חכ

H2451 looks like this:

Ḥet – ח:

The ancient script has this letter as which is a ‘tent wall’, and carries a meaning of ‘SEPARATION’, as a tent wall separates two halves of the tent; or it can also reflect the outside walls that separate the people inside from that which is outside and so can also symbolise protection and security to those inside, while picturing a cutting off of those who are outside. Hence this letter can mean ‘established, secure’ as well as ‘cut off, separated from’. As a tent wall we are also able to recognise the picture of stones being built up to make a complete wall, having been separated from the world and built up in the master!

Kaph - כ:

The ancient form of this letter is - meaning ‘the open palm of a hand’. The meaning behind this letter is ‘to bend and curve’ from the shape of a palm as well as ‘to tame or subdue’ as one has been bent to another’s will (under their hand), as an open hand symbolises submission. This also can picture for us a palm or palm branch from the curved palm shape. The hand also speaks of one’s work, or under whose hand you submit and obey!

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Mem - מ:


Hey – ה:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘a man standing with his arms raised out’. The meaning of the letter is “behold, look, breath, sigh and reveal or revelation”; from the idea of revealing a great sight by pointing it out. It also carries for us the meaning of surrender, as we lift up our

hands and submit to יהוה as we lift our hands in praise, declaring His authority under which we humbly

submit! As we consider these pictographic letters that render for us the term for ‘wisdom’, we are able to clearly see that wisdom entails a separation, as pictured through the tent wall. We can render the meaning of the construction of this word, in terms of true wisdom, as meaning:

WE ARE BUILT UP IN THE MASTER AS WE SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM THE WORLD AS WE SUBMIT UNDER THE HAND OF OUR MASTER AND DO WHAT HIS WORD INSTRUCTS AS IT WASHES US, AND ENABLES US TO LIFT OUR HANDS TO HIM IN CONTINUAL PRAISE!

Wisdom, at its core, speaks of one’s ability to clearly separate the good from the bad, right and wrong, left and right, and up and down; and this we are to be able to do as we exercise true discipline – the discipline of separation! Wisdom is often used in the context of a skilled workman that has been equipped by the Spirit of Elohim: Shemoth/Exodus 28:3 “And you, speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to set him apart, for him to serve as priest to Me.” Wisdom, in the ancient text, can speak of a clear separation by the washing of one’s hands; and as we consider the design of the Tabernacle, we need to be reminded that the bronze laver was used for the serving priests to wash their hands and feet; and clearly pictures for us how we are to be continually washing our work and walk through being immersed in the Word that transforms us! The term ‘latter end’, is a clear reference to the end or the last days, and is also a reference to the end of a person’s life. What we take note of here is that this reference to being wise at our latter end is a clear picture and metaphor for us being found to be wise when our Master comes, and when we think along these lines we are quickly reminded of the parable of the 10 maidens, 5 who were wise and had oil in their lamps and could enter in to the wedding feast and 5 who were foolish and did not have oil and were rejected and shut out and not allowed to enter in.

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It is imperative that we are found to be wise in our latter end, having the true oil of the Spirit in our lives as we shine the Light of the Truth in all we say and do; and to ensure that we are found wise; Shelomoh is telling us to simply listen to counsel and accept discipline! We have already discussed the Hebrew terms for discipline in verse 18.

Verse 21:

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the counsel of יהוה that

stands.”

The Hebrew root word that is used for ‘plans’ is חשבת ,maḥasheḇeth – Strong’s H4284 which means מ

‘thoughts, devise, scheme, plan, purpose’. T

he Hebrew word for ‘heart’ is לב leḇ - Strong’s H3820 which means, ‘inner man, mind, will thought’,

or is often also written as לבב leḇaḇ – Strong’s H3824 which means, ‘inner man, heart, mind,

understanding’, as discussed in verse 8.

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘stands’ comes from the root word קום qum – Strong’s H6965

meaning, ‘to arise, stand up, stand’ and in the tense this is written in, we see that it is in the active voice, which renders the clear meaning, ‘to rise, to become powerful, to stand firm, to be established, endure’. Man can devise many plans and thoughts, yet the only sure thing that stands and is established forever

is the counsel of יהוה, and in following on from the previous verse we take note of how important it is

for us to listen to the counsel of יהוה.

As we consider this root word קום qum – Strong’s H6965, in the ancient pictographic script, we are

able to see how we have been caused to be built up and established in our Master, and it is pictured as follows:

Quph – ק:

This is the letter ‘quph’, which is pictured as , and is a ‘horizon’ and depicts the elements of ‘time’, as it pictures the sun in its rising and setting. It therefore carries the meaning of ‘circle’ or ‘to go around’, representing for us both, appointed cycles or times as well as eternity and speaks of continual adherence to the Appointed Times.

Waw/Vav – ו:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is a ‘peg or tent peg’, which was used for securing or tying the tent or other items. The possibility of it having a Y-shape is to show that it prevents the rope from slipping off. The root meaning of this letter is ‘to add, secure or hook’.

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Mem – ם:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. This also carries for us the picture of washing, as we understand the function of water being that which cleanses us and sustains us, showing us how we are washed and sustained by the Living Waters of the Word! This letter also can represent any liquid, especially blood that flows! With this picture representing the understanding of being established in Covenant, by the clear counsel

of יהוה that stands, we are able to see the following meaning:

CONTINUALLY/FOREVER SECURED BY THE WASHING! This highlights how our Husband, יהושע Messiah, washes us through His Word, having shed His Blood

for us, once for all time and therefore, we have been given access to His continual cleansing that establishes us and secures us as His set-apart and washed covenant bride! Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah also did love the assembly and gave Himself for it, 26 in order to set it apart and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, 27 in order to present it to Himself a splendid assembly, not having spot or wrinkle or any of this sort, but that it might be set-apart and blameless.”

The Hebrew word for ‘man’ is איש ish – Strong’s H376.

Man’s counsel does not stand, only יהוה’s does!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 46:9-11 “Remember the former events of old, for I am Ěl, and there is no one else – Elohim, and there is no one like Me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a distant land. Indeed I have spoken it, I also bring it to pass. I have planned it, I also do it.” We are told in: Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Truly, this only I have found: that Elohim made man straight, but they have sought out many devices.” While the clear counsel of Elohim, which has gone out from the beginning, shall stand! He made man straight and upright, yet sinful man sought not the sure counsel of Elohim, to stay straight, but rather had many of their own plans that cause crookedness. This truth ought to teach us to be urgent in our readiness to listen to the counsel of Elohim and be on guard against running in the way of the many plans that are so easily devised within our hearts without the proper consultation with Elohim and His Word that stands forever!

Verse 22: “What is desirable in a man is his loving-commitment, and a poor man is better than a liar.”

The Hebrew word used here for ‘desirable’ is אוה ,taavah – Strong’s H8378 meaning, ‘a desire ת

longing, craving, lusting, intense greed’.

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This word can have a positive as well as a negative meaning, as it can emphasise that deep longing and craving for something, according to the flesh, that should not be desired as well as the deep desire for that which satisfies and nourishes!

Tehillah/Psalm 21:1-2 “The sovereign rejoices in Your strength, O יהוה; and how greatly he exults in

Your deliverance! 2 You have given him the desire of his heart, and You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.”

Tehillah/Psalm 38:9 “יהוה, all my desire is before You; and my sighing has not been hid from You.”

When the Yisra’ĕlites lusted after meat in the wilderness יהוה brought them what they desired and it

did not turn out well! Tehillah/Psalm 78:29-31 “So they ate and were completely satisfied, for He brought them what they desired. 30 They had not turned away from their desire, their food was still in their mouths, 31 when the wrath of Elohim came against them, and He slew among their fat ones, and He struck down the choice ones of Yisra’ĕl.” Shelomoh is telling us what is truly the positive aspect of that which is desirable; and that is the loving-commitment of man!

In Hebrew the word translated as ‘loving commitment’ is חסד ḥeseḏ – Strong’s H2617 and means,

‘goodness, kindness, deeds of devotion, faithfulness’. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:3 “Let not loving-commitment and truth forsake you – bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” Two very powerful words that are often neglected to be carefully considered by so many wanna-be believers, who think that they can do whatever they want and still claim that they love Elohim. These two words are ‘loving-commitment’ and ‘truth’.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘truth’ is אמת emeth – Strong’s H571 which means, ‘truth, firmness,

faithfulness’, and this word carries an underlying sense of certainty and dependability – and we know

that The Word of יהוה is truth:

Tehillah/Psalm 119:142 “Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:151 “You are near, O יהוה, and all Your commands are truth.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.”

Anyone who claims to serve יהוה, without walking in and giving heed to follow His Torah, commands

and instructions, are not serving in Truth, and those who claim that the Torah/Law of Elohim has been done away with are sadly riddled with the leaven of the hypocrisy of man’s theologies and dogmas that seeks only to serve self rather than the Giver of Life, while claiming the opposite!

When a true servant who fears יהוה serves in perfection and in truth, then the putting away of the

falsehood that had been inherited from the past is done with urgency and without hesitation!!! And in order to do that, we need to recognise that loving-commitment and truth must go hand in hand! In fact, when we look a little closer at the word for ‘loving-commitment’, in the Hebrew, we are able to clearly see that true loving-commitment is, and can only be, connected with the pure truth of the Word! This clear and wise instruction given in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:3, to not let loving-commitment and truth forsake you, is vital in realising that they go hand in hand; for we are able to realise that loving-commitment without truth can quickly degenerate into sentimentalism, and truth without loving-commitment can calcify into legalism.

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Let us run through a little more in-depth into what this Hebrew word for ‘loving-commitment’ - חסד ḥeseḏ is all about and how important it is for us to realise our need to not forsake it!

The Hebrew root word חסד ḥeseḏ appears 248 times in 241 verses in the Tanak (O.T.), and is closely

linked to another Hebrew word that is often translated too as ‘kindness, favour, grace’ – and that is the

root word חן ḥen – Strong’s H2580 meaning, ‘grace, adornment, favour, gracious’ and comes from the

primitive root חנן ḥanan – Strong’s H2603 meaning, ‘show favour, be gracious to, dealt graciously

with, given to them voluntarily, shown favour’. These two words, חן ḥen and חנן ḥanan, are

collectively used 141 times in the Tanak (O.T.).

For more info on the unique relationship between חן ḥen and חסד ḥeseḏ, I encourage you to go and

read the article, ‘UNDERSTANDING GALATIANS’ on our website (https://atfotc.com), as I explain more in depth on the clear connection between these two words, and so for the sake of time, I just want us to

look a little more at the word חסד ḥeseḏ.

What we find in Scripture, is that חסד ḥeseḏ is used only where there is a prior relationship bond, be it

through family, marriage or kinship, and it is used in regards to a bond or relationship that produces, in

the bond itself, a requirement or an obligation for action, where both parties share סדח ḥeseḏ and can

expect from each other, and even demand in a sense, reciprocal responsibilities, and so חסד ḥeseḏ is

not a free gift!

However, because of His חן ḥen which is freely given to us we too are now, by our acceptance of His

free gift, also required to express true loving-commitment as we grow in our understanding of our

obligation to guarding the Covenant! How we do that is by walking ‘in’ The Torah of יהוה, which is His

clear instructions for us on how we walk in His חסד ḥeseḏ; and so the Torah (instructions) of Elohim is

the articulation of the obligation we have to the Covenants of Promise, by which we are freely and

graciously grafted in to by the Blood of Messiah!

We did not earn the right to this Covenant – יהוה made the Covenant out of חן ḥen, and therefore we

understand that the חן ḥen, freely given, entails חסד ḥeseḏ, which now both parties are to be

committed to, and both have an obligation to keep its requirements.

If we reject the obligations and requirements of the Covenant, we are in fact rejecting and forsaking the

loving-commitment - חסד ḥeseḏ – of Elohim, and by doing so, are rejecting יהוה’s bond to us, given

freely by His own Blood!

The importance of חסד ḥeseḏ is vital for us to understand; as we see that those who hear, guard and

do the commands of Elohim grow in wisdom and understand the loving-commitment of יהוה:

Tehillah/Psalm 107:43 “Who is wise? Then let him observe these matters! Let them understand the

loving-commitment of יהוה.”

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For more on ‘loving-commitment’, please see sermon notes on the message called, ‘A WARNING AGAINST THE WICKEDNESS OF WORTHLESSNESS!’ under the sermons 2019/2020 menu from our site: https://atfotc.com or go to the following link: https://atfotc.com/a-warning-against-the-wickedness-of-worthlessness-jeremiah-2/ The poor man is better than a liar!

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘poor’ comes from the root verb רוש rush (roosh) – Strong’s

H7326 which means, ‘to be in want or poor, destitute, poor man, needy, one who pretends to be poor’. This word expresses the state of being destitute and in severe lack!

The Hebrew root word used for ‘liar’ is כזב kazaḇ - Strong’s H3577 which means, ‘a lie, falsehood,

deceptive thing, deception’, and comes from the primitive root verb כזב kazaḇ - Strong’s H3576 which

means, ‘to lie, be a liar, fail, told lies, deceive, disappoint’.

The Greek word used in the LXX (Spetuagint) for ‘poor’ is the word πτωχός ptōchos – Strong’s G4434

which means, ‘to crouch or cower, one who crouches, poor, beggarly’, which is also used in: Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the reign of the heavens.”

The Greek word used in the LXX here for ‘liar’ is ψεύστης pseustēs – Strong’s G5583 and means, ‘liar,

one who breaks faith, false and faithless man’, which is translated as ‘liar’ in: Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:4 “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

This word ψεύστης pseustēs – Strong’s G5583 comes from the word ψεύδομαι pseudomai – Strong’s

G5574 which means, ‘to lie, speak deliberate falsehoods’, and is used in: Ḥazon/Revelation 3:9 “See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are Yehuḏim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” Why I am mentioning these verses, is to highlight why Shelomoh says that it is better to be poor than to be a liar. What is also understood by many is that this parable of Shelomoh teaches us that it is better to be poor than to get money or any other advantages through lying! Lying will cause you to be shut out from the reign of Elohim, whereas being poor is not does not disqualify one from the reign! What is made important, as we sum up this entire parable of verse 22, is that loving-commitment is the most desirable thing in a man and lying will disqualify any loving-commitment that was in one’s heart. Many desire to be loving committed, but find themselves lying in order to get by as they would rather lie to get ahead than face being poor and, in the process, they let loving-commitment be forsaken!

Verse 23:

“The fear of יהוה leads to life, and he remains satisfied, he is not visited by

evil.”

The root word used here for ‘fear’ is the Hebrew noun אה ,yirah – Strong’s H3374 meaning, ‘fear יר

awesome, reverence’, and is derived from the verb - ירא yare – Strong’s H3372 which means, ‘to fear,

be afraid, be in awe, show reverence and respect’.

In Scripture, we frequently see this term ‘the fear of יהוה’, as in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 7:1, and also in:

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https://atfotc.com/a-warning-against-the-wickedness-of-worthlessness-jeremiah-2/

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Mishlĕ/Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of יהוה is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Set-

apart One is understanding.” Mishlĕ/Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you accept my words, and treasure up my commands with you, 2 so that you make your ear attend to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; 3 for if you cry for discernment, lift up your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek her as silver, and search for her as

hidden treasures, 5 then you would understand the fear of יהוה, and find the knowledge of Elohim. 6

For יהוה gives wisdom; out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

We all want to understand the fear of יהוה and so as we look deeper at the Hebrew, we definitely get a

clearer picture of what the fear of יהוה is and what fearing Him entails.

Now, the common interpretation and understanding of Mishlĕ/Proverbs 9:10 and 1:7, that we just

read, is that if someone is ‘afraid’ or is in ‘awe’ of יהוה, he shall have wisdom, however, as we shall

see from this beautiful Hebrew language, this cannot be a consistent interpretation – for there is more to it than meets the eye. Think about it – you cannot think you will suddenly get wisdom just because you have an awe of His presence or if you are afraid of Him; so, let us look at this phrase in the Hebrew.

The fear of יהוה is written with two nouns – “ת יהוה א .”which is transliterated as “yirat Yahweh ”יר

When a noun precedes another noun, the first noun is in the construct state, meaning it is connected to the second noun—two words together forming one concept. Are you with me so far?

Please bear with me, for this is amazing in uncovering a greater meaning of the fear of יהוה.

When a feminine noun ending with the letter ה (hey), such as yirah (א ה is used in the construct ,(יר

state, the ה is converted to a ת (taw), in this case it becomes ‘yirat’ (א ת .(יר

In Berěshith/Genesis we find many construct phrases where the second word of the construct is יהוה,

such as “the face of יהוה” or “the word of יהוה”, or “the Mount of יהוה”, and “the voice of יהוה”,

to name a few; whereby each time the first word (word, voice, face etc.) belong to the second word

.(יהוה)

Why am I telling you all this?

Simply to raise the question that if ‘The Fear of יהוה’ is the construct phrase of ‘fear’, as being that of

?s fear, then why should we think that this fear is ‘ours’ and not His’יהוה

Now, we are all attentive listeners, I am sure, and we know for a fact that Elohim does not ‘fear’, as we have come to understand the concept of fear, right?

However, if you recall, I mentioned that the root word ירא ‘yara’ means a “flowing out of the gut,”

therefore the question becomes, “What flows out of the gut of יהוה?”

In order to answer this, let us look at another two constructs that will shed more light upon the fear of

:יהוה

1 - Tehillah/Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, and he meditates in His Torah day and

night.”

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The Hebrew word Torah – Strong’s H8451 means, ‘utterance’, ‘teaching’, ‘instruction’ or תורה

‘revelation’ from Elohim’ and it is derived from the word ירא yara – Strong’s H3384 which means to

shoot or throw or flow, in the sense of flowing – as in rivers of water and is closely related to the word that we have been looking at, carrying the same definition.

The construct becomes תור ת יהוה torat Yahweh – which means, His instructions!

2 – Miḵah/Micah 3:8 “But truly I am filled with power, with the Spirit of יהוה, and with right-ruling

and with might, to declare to Yaʽaqob his transgression and to Yisra’ĕl his sin.”

The Hebrew root word for spirit is רוח ruaḥ – Strong’s H7307 and means ‘breath, wind or spirit’, and

here, this construct becomes רות יהוה ruat Yahweh which means, the breath/spirit of יהוה – another type of ‘flowing’, as well as describing character, as with the fruit of the Spirit. I hope you are still with me – because by understanding this, we can once again ask,

‘what flows out of the gut of יהוה?’

The answer is clear – It is His teachings and His character!!! When understanding this, we can go back to Mishlĕ/Proverbs 9:10 and get a clearer understanding

and, in essence, it could also be translated as “The flowing’s of יהוה is the beginning of wisdom, and

the knowledge of the Set-apart One is understanding.” The flowing’s, as in that which flows out from His gut – that is: “His teachings” and “His Character” – This is the beginning of wisdom!!!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 1:7 “The flowing’s of יהוה is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and

discipline.”

That hopefully clears the answer for ‘what does the fear of יהוה mean?”

Here in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:23 Shelomoh expands on the power of the true fear of יהוה as it leads to

life and keeps one satisfied and safe! Knowing this, who would not want to walk in the fear of יהוה?

In Hebrew, the word for ‘life’ is י ,ḥay – Strong’s H2416 and means, ‘life, alive, living, flowing, fresh ח

running’. What we must guard against is the looking to the ‘letter of the Torah’ only; as we must recognise that the Torah without Messiah contains no life – but it is only in Messiah that true life of the Torah becomes something that can and does sustain us.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:27 “The fear of יהוה is a fountain of life, to turn away from the snares of death.”

is The Word made flesh and in essence portrays for us the pure example of the Life that the יהושע

Torah is to us and in many ways is often regarded as being the “Living Torah” and our source of Life, or more appropriately put – He is the Life of the Torah - and when we drink of Him – the FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

- Living Waters begins to flow out of us as we gain understanding, and walk in the fear of יהוה by

walking in the Torah, and our speech becomes a flowing source of life!!! Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 32:47 “For it is not a worthless Word for you, because it is your life, and by this Word you prolong your days on the soil which you pass over the Yardĕn to possess.”

In the ancient pictographic symbols of this word, we are given a greater insight in understanding how

עיהוש Messiah is THE LIFE!

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This word - י :ḥay – Strong’s H2416, in the ancient pictographic script, look like this ח

Ḥet – ח

The ancient script has this letter as which is a ‘tent wall’, and carries a meaning of ‘separation’, as a tent wall separates two halves of the tent; or it can also reflect the outside walls that separate the people inside from that which is outside and so can also symbolise protection and security to those inside, while picturing a cutting off of those who are outside. Hence this letter can mean ‘established, secure’ as well as ‘cut off, separated from’. As a tent wall we are also able to recognise the picture of stones being built up to make a complete wall.

Yod – י


From this ancient pictographic lettering of the word for LIFE: י ḥay – Strong’s H2416, we are clearly ח

able to see how by the work of Messiah – the outstretched arm and hand of Elohim, we as living stones, are built up in Him as the Dwelling Place of the Living Elohim and have been separated to serve and worship Him in Spirit is Truth. These two pictographs can render for us the clear meaning:

SEPARATED TO SERVE

What gives us our ability to be built up as living stones in the Master, is our continued obedience to walking in that which is our life – His Torah!

The fear of יהוה causes us to remain satisfied!

The Hebrew root word used here for ‘remain’ is - לון lun – Strong’s H3885 which means ‘to lodge, pass

the night or stop over, abide, remain’, and the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘satisfied’ is שבע saḇea – Strong’s H7649 which means, ‘satisfied, full, ripe’ and by implication can mean, ‘satisfied by nourishment’.

We know that יהוה satisfies our desires with good things and He satisfies His people with bread –

which is symbolic of His Word that satisfies! Tehillah/Psalm 132:15 “I greatly bless her provision, I satisfy her poor with bread.” Tehillah/Psalm 147:14 “Who makes peace in your borders, He satisfies you with the finest wheat”

Tehillah/Psalm 22:26 “The meek ones do eat and are satisfied; let those who seek Him praise יהוה.

Let your heart live forever!”

The word for ‘bread’ is לחם leḥem – Strong’s H3899, meaning ‘bread, meal, provision, food’, and we

are therefore able to see the sure promise of the blessing of provision given to those who are obedient and work unto the Master, while the lazy will chase things that are worthless and have no value.

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Those who fear יהוה will not be visited by evil, and we are told in:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:21 “No harm befalls the righteous, but the wrong shall be filled with evil.”

Verse 24: “A lazy one buries his hand in a dish, and does not bring it back to his mouth.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘lazy one’ comes from the root word עצל atsel – Strong’s

H6102 which means, ‘lazy, sluggard’, and is used 14 times in 14 verses – all of which are found in the Book of Mishlĕ/Proverbs!!! The way to guard against laziness is to learn wisdom and do it! The one who ‘learns’ wisdom and does not apply, it is lazy and is a fool who just wants to get puffed up with knowledge, while lacking the needed action of obedience and follow through of applying the

wisdom of the Torah of יהוה! When we consider the words of Shelomoh here, in referencing a lazy one who cannot even bring his hand back to his mouth after dipping it in a dish I am immediately reminded of Ěsaw who wanted Ya’aqoḇ to feed him, as seen in: Berěshith/Genesis 25:30 “And Ěsaw said to Yaʽaqoḇ, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” That is why his name was called Eḏom.” Ěsaw is a picture of those who run after the things of the flesh and do not walk according to the Spirit and we are able to see so many today, who get so weary after their intense chasing of fleshly matters that when it comes to sitting and eating the good manna of the Word of Elohim they are too lazy to feed themselves and want others to do it for them! Many people are ‘buried’ in systems of false theologies and are lazy in their proper study of the Word, as they just accept whatever is told to them without testing the validity of what they are being instructed in!

Verse 25: “Beat a scoffer, and the simple is made wise; and reprove one who has understanding, and he discerns knowledge.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘beat’ comes from the root word נכה naḵah – Strong’s

H5221 which means ‘strike, make physical contact with a blow, cause the destruction of an object, strike with the mouth of the sword, kill’. What is a scoffer?

The Hebrew root word for ‘scoffer’ is לוץ luts – Strong’s H3887 which is the same as the word ליץ lits

– Strong’s H3917 which means, ‘to scorn, carry on as scoffers, mock, talk arrogantly’.

The Hebrew word used for ‘scoffing’ is לצון latson – Strong’s H3944 which means, ‘a scorning,

scoffing’. Scorn is described in the dictionary as, ‘open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation’. Scoffers are not silent about their dislike for the Truth and they openly vocalise their hatred toward it, and wisdom cries out and says how long will you scoffers scoff! To scoff is to mock and show contempt, and this is what sinners do toward the right-rulings of Elohim.

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Those who scoff at Elohim and the need to walk in obedience to His Torah, He will scoff at, when He comes in vengeance: Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:34 “He certainly scoffs the scoffers, but gives favour to the humble.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘simple’ comes from the root word פתי pethi – Strong’s H6612

which means, ‘open minded, foolish, simple, naïve’, which comes from the root verb פתה pathah –

Strong’s H6601 and means ‘easily deceived, enticed, to be simple or to be in a state of holding a wrong view about a situation’. Those who are ‘open minded’ are typically regarded by the world as being right, as they readily accept whatever anyone wishes to do as an acceptable standard that is not challenged by any moral or ethical code. Scripturally, these people are called simple ones – ones who are easily deceived as they do not renew their minds with the Word of Elohim! While there are various debates as to what Shelomoh is teaching us here, it seems to be clear that when a simple one sees a scoffer being beaten and struck, he will quickly learn wisdom. Seeing others get punished for their disobedience, can often strike a fear into some who will change their simple ways. We are often told in the Torah that certain punishments were to be done before all, in order that everyone would learn to hear and fear. After being told that if anyone who had a family member who tried to entice them away from the Truth in order to go and serve other mighty ones was to be put to death we take note that after all the people had stoned the guilty, the reason for this being done before all is clearly given in: Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 13:11 “And let all Yisra’ĕl hear and fear, and not again do any such evil matter as this in your midst.” While we certainly do not physically stone or put to death anyone today, we are to reprove them before all as we ‘beat or strike’ them with the sword of the Truth, and we see Sha’ul telling this to Timotiyos in: Timotiyos Aleph/1 timothy 5:20 “Reprove those who are sinning, in the presence of all, so that the rest also might fear.”

The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘wise’ is the root verb ערם arom – Strong’s H6191 which

means, ‘to be prudent, shrewd or crafty’. This root verb is a root with both positive (prudence) and negative (shrewdness) connotations, and in

the positive sense, it may be contrasted to the word ל saḵal – Strong’s H7919 which means, ‘to be שכ

prudent, act wisely, comprehend, consider, discern, give attention, wisely understand and prosper’.

The adjective that comes from the root verb, is ערום arum – Strong’s H6175 which means, ‘crafty,

shrewd, subtle, cunning, prudent’, and is used in Scripture 11 times, with 8 of those being seen in Mishlĕ/Proverbs. This word can also have both positive and negative connotations. Positive when used to describe prudence and negative when describing shrewdness. In Berěshith/Genesis 3:1 we see this word being used to describe how ‘crafty’ the serpent was, and is clearly an example of the negative use of this descriptive adjective. In Mishlĕ/Proverbs we are given the ‘positive’ use of this word that is used as an adjective to describe a wise one who acts in obedience, which is in complete contrast to a fool. In Mishlĕ/Proverbs we see the use of this word being used to describe one who exercises skill and good judgement in the use of the proper resources of the wisdom of Elohim, showing that they have the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of proper reason.

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Reprove and understanding one!

The root verb ח yaḵaḥ – Strong’s H3198 which means ‘to decide, prove, judge or correct’, and we יכ

see this word being used in:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your sins are like

scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

The term ‘let us reason together’ is חה נוכ ח venivakeḥah’, and comes from the root word‘ ו yakaḥ יכ

– Strong’s H3198, and in effect what יהוה is saying here to a sinful nation is,

“Come let Me prove to you… that you will be cleaned up… if you …” Here, He is using court like language that has Him addressing the guilty to seek judgement and right-ruling, and is submitting His case here, as to those guilty of sin, as if on trial, and then proceeds to show them on what principles they may be pardoned! So many people love to recite this verse on its own, but do not proceed to the next and do not understand the seriousness of stain of sin and lawlessness! Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:19-20 “If you submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you

refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of יהוה has spoken.”

The Hebrew root word that is used for ‘eat’ and ‘devoured’ is the same word, which is the root word -

ל .’aḵal – H398 which means ‘eat, consume, devour or be devoured אכ

So, in essence, what is being declared here is simply this: If you submit and obey you will eat and enjoy the good of the land – if you rebel and refuse to submit and obey you will be eaten by the sword – that is – His Word that will consume you up and devour you in judgement, according to His righteous right ruling! We have a choice – eat His Word and walk in Him and be satisfied or eat all the junk that is on offer and neglect His Word and be eaten by the very Word that is rejected. It is not a difficult concept to grasp – the question remains – how is your diet, and more importantly – what is filling you?

Eat right and live or live wrong and be eaten: Ḥazon/Revelation 19:15 “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. And He shall shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Ěl Shaddai.” Ḥazon/Revelation 19:21 “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” The Greek word that is used here in the LXX (Septuagint) of Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:25 for ‘reprove’ is the

verb ἐλέγχω elegchō – Strong’s G1651 which means, ‘to expose, convict, reprove, reprimanded,

rebuke’, and the noun that comes from this verb is ἔλεγχος elegchos – Strong’s G1650 which means,

‘reproof, test, conviction’, and is used in: Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.” It is through the loud and clear call of wisdom, that we must hear and respond to the reproof of Elohim, given to us through His Scripture – that is: His complete Word and not just the parts of it, that many try to pick and choose, in order to have their ears tickled!

:reproves those He loves יהושע

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Ḥazon/Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. So be ardent and repent.” Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5: 11-13 “And have no fellowship with the fruitless works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of what is done by them in secret. 13 But all matters being reproved are manifested by the light, for whatever is manifested is light.” We need to exercise boldness and unfeigned humility, when we reprove another; and today there seems to be a mental block against proper reproof, for fear of offending another when correcting their behaviour, yet we need to learn to do so, with love and respect, in order that we can build one another up in the Most Set-Apart faith! Titos/Titus 2:15 “Speak these matters, urge, and reprove with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Reproof must always be done on the basis of the pure plumb line of the Word and not on a twisted interpretation that diminishes the Word! We must not reproof another when we do not like the way they do things, yet it is not against the Torah, but must exercise proper discernment in distinguishing the set-apart and profane and when one’s actions are not set-apart but are profaning the Truth, then we must boldly reprove the one in

error so that they learn to fear יהוה.

We will not be able to reprove with all authority if we ourselves do not receive the reproof, correction and training in righteousness that the Word brings. Proper reproof to an understanding one will cause them to grow in knowledge and not scoff at the Truth nor be simple in their ways!

Verse 26: “He who plunders a father, chases away his mother, is a son causing shame and bringing reproach.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘plunders’ comes from the root verb ד shaḏaḏ – Strong’s שד

H7703 which means, ‘to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, completely destroy’, and what is being highlighted here is a don who abuses his parents and does violence toward them! We are commanded in Scripture to respect our father and mother, so that our days are prolonged and this was the first command with a promise. This proper respect shown toward a father and mother, is a picture of how we are to show the proper respect and honour towards Elohim and His Torah. There are many today who are doing violence to the Torah and are, in a manner of speaking, plundering our Heavenly Father and chasing away His nurturing word, pictured as a mother! One who does violence to the Word by disregarding it and casting it aside brings shame and reproach!

The son who does this, causes ‘shame’ which is translated from the Hebrew root word בוש bosh –

Strong’s H954 which means, ‘be ashamed, act shamefully, disconcerted, disappointed’. Those who walk in the stubbornness of their own ways and try to falsely accuse our good behaviour, shall stand ashamed before the Master one day! Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:14-17 “But even if you suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do

not fear their threats, neither be troubled.” 15 But set apart יהוה Elohim in your hearts, and always

be ready to give an answer to everyone asking you a reason concerning the expectation that is in you, with meekness and fear, 16 having a good conscience, so that when they speak against you as doers of evil, those who falsely accuse your good behaviour in Messiah, shall be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the desire of Elohim, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

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When we walk in total obedience to the clear instructions of Elohim, we shall not stand ashamed, nor act shamefully: Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 4:14-16 “If you are reproached for the Name of Messiah, you are blessed, because the Spirit of esteem and of Elohim rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is praised. 15 For do not let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or doer of evil, or as a meddler. 16 But if one suffers being Messianic, let him not be ashamed, but let him esteem Elohim in this matter.” The wrong are not only loathsome, but they will come to shame, and the Hebrew word for ‘reproach’ is

,ḥapher – Strong’s H2659 which means, ‘to be ashamed, abashed, confounded, disgraced חפר

humiliated, embarrassed’. The basic idea of this root words expresses the loss of self-possession through humiliation, embarrassment or confusion!

This word is very close in meaning to the Hebrew word בוש bosh – Strong’s H954 which is frequently

used parallel to חפר ḥapher – Strong’s H2659, which suggests to us that חפר ḥapher – Strong’s

H2659 is often used as an amplification of the shame and disgrace that will be experienced! Romiyim/Romans 10:11 “Because the Scripture says, “Whoever puts his trust in Him shall not be put to shame.”

The Greek word used here for ‘shame’ is καταισχύνω ‘kataischunō’ – Strong’s G2617 and means ‘to

put to shame, to dishonour, to disgrace, to cause to blush’.

Verse 27: “Cease, my son, to hear discipline, and you shall stray from the words of knowledge.” Shelomoh continues to emphasise the need for us to hear discipline, with the clear warning that if we stop hearing discipline then we will stray from the Truth! Many people fall away, when they stop hearing discipline, as they often find it hard to have their compromise being corrected continually and by closing their ears to discipline, they stray from the narrow path and end up justifying their compromised lifestyle and do not even consider themselves as being wrong!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘stray’ comes from the root word שגה shagah – Strong’s H7686

which means ‘to go astray, to err, to wander or stray, and to be intoxicated’. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 5:20 tells us that many people stray or are captivated by a strange woman, which is a result of turning away from the truth. These parables teach us the danger of straying away and being joined to the whore, who makes the nations drunk with maddening adulteries and muddied teachings that poison! We are constantly warned in Scripture against those who lead astray through falsehood and vain teachings, and how they will even come masquerading as teachers of truth yet they are savage wolves. Messiah told us to beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which are teachings that deny the Messiah and that He is our Master and Elohim! When one stops hearing the discipline of the Word then knowledge is lost and leaves one stranded without hope!

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Verse 28: “A witness of Beliyaʽal scorns right-ruling, and the mouth of the wrong ones devours wickedness.”

The Hebrew word ל ליע :beliya’al – Strong’s H1100 comes from two words ב

לי (1 beliy – Strong’s H1097 which means, ‘failure, wearing out, without, lack of, corruption’, which ב

comes from the root word בלה balah – Strong’s H1086 which means, ‘to fail, become old, wear out,

decay, consume’; and

ל (2 ya’al – Strong’s H3276 which means, ‘to confer or gain profit or benefit, avail, furnish, that יע

which is profitable and good’.

This word ל ya’al – Strong’s H3276 is used 23 times in 21 verses in the Tanak (O.T.), and is mostly יע

used in relation to that which does not profit; yet we do see that which is best for us, when we see this word used in:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 48:17 “Thus said יהוה, your Redeemer, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, “I am יהוה your Elohim, teaching you what is best, leading you by the way you should go.”

!teaches us what is best – He teaches us what is profitable for us and what is good for us יהוה

Qorintiyim Bět/2 Corinthians 6:15 “And what agreement has Messiah with Beliya’al? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever?” As we consider these words that Sha’ul wrote to the assembly at Corinth, we recognise how clear his call was to the believers back then, and is still very clear to us here today. And that is, as followers of Messiah, we must be on guard against being influenced or corrupted by that which does not follow our Master and Elohim; and the urgency of this call to come out and be separate is still sounding very loud and clear. What is ‘beliya’al’?

It is only used once in the Renewed writings, in the verse I opened with, and the Greek term Βελιάρ Belial – Strong’s H955 means, ‘wickedness, worthlessness’, and is considered in the Greek as an epithet for the devil.

It is a noun that is transliterated from the Hebrew word ל ליע beliya’al – Strong’s H1100 which ב

means, ‘worthlessness, wicked, naughty, evil, unprofitable’. Sha’ul makes a clear distinction between that which serves and follows Messiah versus that which serves and follows Beliya’al. While this term can be an epithet for the devil, it is also used to describe a person who walks contrary to the Truth, and is therefore not a servant of the True Master, but is a servant to that which the devil presents as a twisted alternative. True worshippers of Elohim worship in Spirit and Truth, and any deviation from walking according to the clear plumb-line of the Word, be it through compromise and lawlessness, renders one to be reckoned as a man/woman of beliya’al. We cannot serve two masters! Mattithyahu/Matthew 6:24 “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the one and despise the other. You are not able to serve Elohim and mammon.”

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The word ‘mammon’ is of Aramaic origin, rendered in Greek as μαμωνᾶς mamōnas – Strong’s G3126

meaning, ‘wealth, riches, where it is personified and opposed to Elohim’. As we hear the call to come out and be separate, we must recognise the urgency for total set-apartness, and not be found to be having any agreement with that which is beliya’al!

The Torah was given through Mosheh, and revealed through the life, death and resurrection of יהושע Messiah, our Good Teacher whom we follow wholeheartedly!

Those of ‘beliya’al’ do not do so; and as we can see from the two root words that ל ליע beliya’al ב

comes from, the term ‘beliya’al’ can be better understood as, ‘failure to profit, failure to do what is

best’, and ultimately marks one who ‘fails to follow יהוה’, by refusing to submit to walking

wholeheartedly in His commands! When we consider the words of Sha’ul and realise that we, as taught ones of Messiah, are to have no agreement with Beliya’al, then it would be good for us to recognise what Scripture says about the man of beliya’al, so as to be on guard against any of the characteristics of beliya’al being evident in our own lives. Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6 gives us a clear description of what a man of beliya’al is like and you can go and read more on this in our commentary and word study of Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6.

A witness of beliya’al could therefore also be interpreted as being a ‘worthless witness’. We are called to be trustworthy witnesses, not worthless ones!!

Worthless witnesses scorn right-rulings and the Hebrew word used here for ‘scorn’ is לוץ luts –

Strong’s H3887 which is the same as the word ליץ lits – Strong’s H3917 which means, ‘to scorn, carry

on as scoffers, mock, talk arrogantly’. Worthless witnesses are arrogant and, in their arrogance, they see no need to submit or subject themselves to the proper right-rulings of Elohim!

The Hebrew word for ‘right-ruling’ is פט ,mishpat – Strong’s H4941 which means ‘judgement מש

ordinance, regulations’ and comes from the word ט shaphat – Strong’s H8199 – meaning, ‘to שפ

judge, govern, rule, pronounce judgement, give law’.

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 33:22 “for יהוה is our Judge, יהוה is our Lawgiver, יהוה is our Sovereign, He

saves us” There is only One who gives us the Law by which we must live and by which we are governed and these judgements and right-rulings and regulations given by Him, we must DO!!! The mouth of the wrong devours wickedness!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘devours’ is ע bala – Strong’s H1104 which means, ‘to בל

swallow up, engulf, brought to confusion, ruined, consume, destroy’.

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘wickedness’ is און aven – Strong’s H205 which means,

‘iniquity, trouble, wicked, sorrow’. We recognise, in Scripture, the clear need for us to eat our daily lawful bread, which is the Word of Elohim, for man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Elohim. The wrong ones do not eat the Truth and instead, they devour themselves on wickedness and trouble!

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In Hoshěa/Hosea 10, Yisra’ĕl is called a degenerate vine, due to the corruption of their false worship practices that they had adopted, as they were a nation that had become so twisted, in their attempt at worship, that they resorted to the use of lying, cheating and twisting words to cover up their wickedness; and they had put more trust in self and their worship programmes and idols, rather than in

.יהוה

They were more afraid of losing their calf to the enemy, than actually stripping away the lies! When Yaroḇʽam, the king of the northern tribes, had built Sheḵem in the north, as the capital of Ephrayim, he did not want people to go to Yerushalayim to worship in fear that they would return to Reḥaḇʽam, the king of Yehuḏah, and so he made two calves of gold, setting one up in Bĕyth Ěl and another in Dan, made high places of all sorts and made many priests from all sorts of people who were not from Lĕwi. And this became the focus of their worship – calf worship – they had not learnt from the incident in the

Wilderness many years before when Aharon built a golden calf proclaiming a festival unto יהוה, while

in יהוה’s eyes it was an abomination (Shemoth/Exodus 32).

This time was no different – יהוה does not change!

Yisra’ĕl was more concerned about their calf being captured due to the tightening grip of judgement

that was coming upon them and in Hoshěa/Hosea 10:5 we see the place Bĕyth Ěl being called בית Bĕyth Awen – Strong’s H1007 which means, ‘house of iniquity/ house of wickedness/ house of און

vanity’. Hoshěa/Hosea 10:5 “The inhabitants of Shomeron fear because of the calf of Bĕyth Awen. For its people shall mourn for it, as well as its priests who used to rejoice over it, because of its esteem that has departed from it.” What we see very clearly here, is the fact that the House of Ěl had now become the House of iniquity!!! False worship was taking place and the people leading the services were false priests!

The Hebrew word that is used here for priests is מר komer – Strong’s H3649 which means, ‘Idolatrous כ

priests or priests in idol worship’!!! How did this happen? Well, remember that Yaroḇʽam made anyone a priest and this is the result!!!

It is יהוה who calls and not man; and today there is a man-driven system of appointing priests that

adhere to man-made standards which primarily end up in priests who are engaged in idolatry and teaching others likewise! The Hebrew word for idolatrous priests comes from a root word that can mean ‘black’, giving a clear reference to the black garments of idolatry, as opposed to the white robes of righteousness that a true royal priesthood is to be wearing!!! Why I am mentioning this, is to simply highlight how the wrong will devour wickedness and when I say devour, I really mean it, as they will build empires of wickedness that causes many to think that they are the place to be fed, when in fact, they teach their followers to scorn right-ruling!

Verse 29: “Judgments are in store for scoffers, and beatings for the backs of fools.” In this last verse of Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19, we see that Shelomoh makes clear the end fate of the scoffers and fools!

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The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘judgement’ is שפט shephet – Strong’s H8201 which

means, ‘judgement, act of judgement’, which comes from the root word ט shaphat – Strong’s שפ

H8199 which has the meaning, ‘to judge, govern, rule, pronounce judgement, give law’. There is a judgement coming for scoffers and fools who scorn right-rulings! Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:3-7 “knowing this first: that mockers shall come in the last days with mocking, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues as from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they choose to have this hidden from them: that the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by the Word of Elohim, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 And the present heavens and the earth are treasured up by the same Word, being kept for fire, to a day of judgment and destruction of wicked men.”

The Greek word used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak) for ‘fools’ is ἄφρων aphrōn – Strong’s G878 which means, ‘without reason, foolish, unwise’, which is constructed from two Greek words:

1) α alpha – Strong’s G1 used as a negative prefix, and

2) φρήν phrēn – Strong’s G5424 which means, ‘midriff, heart, mind, thought, thinking’, and what we

are able to clearly see here is that a foolish and unwise person has without reason and has no proper thought process that is according to Scripture! This Greek word is also used in: Luqas/Luke 12:20 “But Elohim said to him, ‘You mindless one! This night your life shall be demanded from you. And who shall own what you have prepared?’” This was in the parable of the rich man whose land yielded well and the response to the rich man who thought he could store up for himself and enjoy life as it were. Lukas/Luke 11:40 “Mindless ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?” These were the words of Messiah to the Pharisees, who make the outside of the cup clean but their inward parts are full of greed and wickedness. As we consider the words of Shelomoh, given to us in these powerful parables, may we certainly take

heed to walk in the fear of יהוה, and walk humbly before Him, through the proper discipline of

wisdom, that causes us to be a faithful remnant Bride that prepares Herself for our soon coming Husband, Redeemer and King, ensuring that we are dressed in the garments of righteousness that He has given us, through His resurrection power and the washing of His Word!!!

lift up יהוה ;make His face shine upon you and show you favour יהוה ;bless you and guard you יהוה

His face to you and give you Shalom!

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MISHLĔ/PROVERBS 191 MISHLĔ/PROVERBS 19 Shalom, In this article I will break down Mishlĕ/Proverbs...

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